Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Dan Olson, 218-846-7390 Technical Contact: Kevin Kain, 651-296-7432 Hancock, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has completed an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for a proposed new wastewater treatment system for the city of Hancock. The public may review the EAW and submit written comments to the MPCA during a 30-day comment period that ends Aug. 31, 2006. The city's existing wastewater facility was constructed in the 1930s as a mechanical system designed to treat up to 143,000 gallons of wastewater per day during wet weather. The system continually discharges treated wastewater to a nearby ditch. The proposed new facility will be a three-celled stabilization pond system designed to treat up to 182,900 gallons per day to meet current and expected future demand. The new system will discharge to the same ditch as the current system, but through a controlled, rather than continuous, outlet. The EAW is a preliminary environmental review of how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment. The EAW also helps the MPCA determine if an Environmental Impact Statement (a more in-depth environmental review) is needed. The EAW is necessary for the MPCA to issue a permit for the project. The MPCA may make changes to the permit based on input it receives during the EAW public comment period and/or on new information gathered as part of its own review of the project. Comments on the Hancock wastewater EAW should be submitted in writing by 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2006, to Kevin Kain, Environmental Review and Operations Section, 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155-4194 or by fax to 651-296-7432. Copies of the EAW are available for review on the Web at/news/eaw/index.html; as well as the following locations:
· MPCA Detroit Lakes office, 714 Lake Avenue, Suite 220
· MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Rd. North
To request a copy of the EAW, contact Mary Osborn at 651-297-8510. Other telephone inquiries related to the EAW should be directed to Kevin Kain at 651-296-7432, or toll-free at 1-800-657-3864. Additional information on the environmental review process is available on the MPCA Web site at/programs/envr_p.html.