Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Forrest Peterson, 320-441-6972 St. Paul, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the city of Marshall have reached an agreement that resolves alleged violations of hazardous waste rules related to a major downtown street and utility project. The city has paid a $28,250 penalty and is required to complete a subsurface soil investigation. The hazardous waste originated when the project encountered contaminated soil and groundwater during street and utility reconstruction along Main Street in 2007. The soil and ground water were contaminated by tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene, which may cause liver problems and increase cancer risk in humans. The project initially encountered the contamination in 2006 during soil excavation. In February 2007, the cityenteredthe project site into the MPCA's Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) program. Under the federal Land Recycling Act, the program promotes clean-up of sites by parties not responsible for previous contamination. However, contractors operating at the direction of the cityduring reconstruction activities failed to account for about 5,500 gallons of contaminated slurry generated during underground, directional drilling activities. The waste drilling slurry was discharged to unlined pits next to the construction site, and later transported to a holding tank at the city's wastewater treatment facility. Alleged violations of hazardous waste rules consisted of failure to evaluate the waste drilling slurry and contaminated soil in a timely manner, manage and dispose of it properly, receive necessary permits, and notify the MPCA of a discharge with potential to cause pollution. The agreement requires the city to submit and implement an additional site investigation report and a final response action implementation report, which includes final waste disposal records to the VIC program for review and approval. A stipulation agreement such as this one is a tool used to achieve compliance with environmental laws. When calculating penalties, the MPCA takes into account how seriously the violation affected the environment, whether it is a first time or repeat violation, and how promptly the violation was reported to appropriate authorities. It also attempts to recover the calculated economic benefit gained by failure to comply with environmental laws in a timely manner. For a comprehensive list of enforcement actions by the MPCA, go to the agency Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/newscenter/enforcement.html.