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Revisor ID: R-04079

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) plans to amend its 20-year-old rules governing land treatment of petroleum-contaminated soil. Land treatment involves spreading and incorporating the soils contaminated with petroleum compounds into the upper-most soil layer at a specific rate on pre-approved treatment sites. This treatment method allows natural biological, physical and chemical processes to break down the petroleum compounds over time into harmless constituents.

Background

The MPCA plans to update the sampling protocols, methodologies, terminology and references found in existing rules to reflect accumulated program experience and current scientific data. The amendments are also intended to safely reduce unnecessary burdens to site owners, operators and regulated parties while assuring that the soils are treated under controlled conditions that do not endanger public health or the environment. They improve land treatment practices for small quantities of petroleum contaminated soil (under 10 cubic yards). They also increase the contamination standards allowed for land treating gasoline range organics/diesel range organics (GRO/DRO) from 10 ppm to 100 ppm, reduce post-application monitoring frequency from three to two times per year, and improve rule clarity.

These amendments mostly affect land treatment site owners and operators, parties with regulated soils, consultants and local communities. The MPCA believes that these amendments align well with related standards in other states, are necessary and non-controversial, and will generally be welcomed by most affected parties.

Documents

1878: GovDelivery: Rulemaking petroleum cont soils MNPCA_123
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