Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: CoriAhna Rude-Young 651-296-5965 Saint Paul, Minn. - The first phase of cleanup related to the Valentine Clark Superfund site in southeast Minneapolis is scheduled to begin this week. Veit & Company Inc., the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's approved construction contractor for the site, will convert Bridal Veil Pond and surrounding area, just north of Kasota Avenue and west of Highway 280, into a permanent open space with a wetland designed by STS Consultants, an environmental consultant. The Valentine Clark site was a former wood treatment operation. Over the years, contaminants such as, poly aromatic hydrocarbons, pentachlorophenol and several metals tainted the soil. Eventually, these contaminants migrated to Bridal Veil Pond via Bridal Veil Creek, and contaminated ground water. The creek, a natural drainage flowing adjacent to the Valentine Clark site, was rerouted underground several years ago. In the 1970s a natural wetland through which the creek flowed was converted to a stormwater retention pond. It eventually developed into a pleasant oasis in an otherwise industrial landscape, with trees and shrubs surrounding it, ducks and geese paddling its surface, and the occasional fisherman. In the late 1980s, dredging activities in the creek adjacent to the Valentine Clark site released contaminated sediments into the pond, killing a number of ducks and fish. The incident prompted the MPCA to post the site closed to fishing. As part of this initial clean up, some sediments in the pond will be removed and disposed of off-site. The pond will be filled with clean soil and turned into a wetland. In addition, sediments in the creek channel upstream of the pond will be covered with clean soil and remaining open parts of the creek piped underground. Biological processes in the wetland will provide treatment of low-level residual contamination. The first part of construction activities will include clearing the site of vegetation. The result will be a permanent, open green space. Final landscaping plans for the site will be determined in 2008, in consultation with local community groups that are actively involved in the Bridal Veil project. The MPCA expects the project to be completed by the end of June 2008. Fact sheets, documents and other information relating to the Valentine Clark cleanup are available on the MPCA Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/cleanup/sites/index.html#individualsites.