HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-16 PACKET 04.P.REQUEST OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION COUNCIL AGENDA
MEETING ITEM #
DATE 6/16/2010
PREPARED BY Administration Ryan Schroeder
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT HEAD
COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST
Consider authorizing letters to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding Annual Air
Monitoring Network Plan 2011 and 3M Barrier Well Pumping at the Woodbury Landfill Site.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the letters.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
® MEMO /LETTER: 2 letters.
❑ RESOLUTION:
❑ ORDINANCE:
❑ ENGINEERING RECOMMENDATION:
❑ LEGAL RECOMMENDATION:
❑ OTHER:
ADMINISTRATORS COMMENTS
4 r ,
itdministrator Date
COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: APPROVED ❑ DENIED ❑ OTHER
Document2
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City of
Cott
3 Minnesota
7516 80th Street South / Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 -3195
e . cottage - grove.org
June 16, 2010
Kellie Gavin
Environmental Analysis and Outcomes Division
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155
RE: Annual Air Monitoring Network Plan 2011
Dear Kellie,
651 -458 -2800 Fax 651458 -2897
TDD 651- 458 -2880
The City of Cottage Grove would like to provide comments on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency,
Annual Air Monitoring Network Plan 2011. The current plan outlines 54 monitoring sites throughout
Minnesota. The monitoring sites are selected for various reasons and serve a specific purpose within the
network. The City is requesting a monitoring station to be located within Cottage Grove, specifically in
the prevailing wind pattern southeast of the 3M Cottage Grove facility. The request is to test for total
suspended particulate matter (TSP), heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOC), consistent
with protocol established in the monitoring program.
The need for a monitor in Cottage Grove is related to the location of Minnesota's only hazardous waste
incinerator at the 3M Cottage Grove facility. Cottage Grove also has thirteen other PCA air permits in the
community. Also, on the border of our community are Marathon Oil Refinery and Flint Hills Resources,
two other large industrial pollutant air emitters. It would be important to the City and our residents to
have assurance that the air quality in the community is compliant with the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards and Minnesota Ambient Quality Standards. In the program currently, there is air monitoring
for site specific ambient air monitoring. As the Plan states, "The goal in establishing air monitoring sites
is to correctly match the spatial scale that is most appropriate for the monitoring objective of the site."
We are proposing a source impact monitoring objective, consistent with the objective of monitoring
"the impact of specific sources on ambient pollutant concentrations"
The City has been trying to work with 3M to develop a monitoring program independent of the PCA, to
test for TSP, heavy metals, and VOCs related to the hazardous waste incinerator. An agreement has not
been reached at this point with 3M on ambient air monitoring. Since an agreement has not been
reached, our request is to be added to the 2011 Monitoring Network.
The City of Cottage Grove appreciates your consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
Myron Bailey
Mayor
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
CC: Senator Katie Sieben
Representative Karla Bigham
Representative Denny McNamara
City of Woodbury
City of St. Paul Park
City of Newport
City of Hastings
City of Inver Grove Heights
City of Rosemount
City of Lake Elmo
City of Oakdale
City of Afton
City of Prescott
Denmark Township
Grey Cloud Island Township
City of
Cotta Grove
Minnesota
7516 80th Street South / Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 -3195
vnvvv. cottage- grove.org
June 16, 2010
Paul Eger, Commissioner
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155 -4194
651- 458 -2800 Fax 651- 458 -2897
TDD 651- 458 -2880
RE: 3M Request to Reduce Pumping from Barrier Wells at Woodbury Landfill Site
Dear Commissioner Eger:
The City of Cottage Grove opposes any reduction in pumping from the barrier wells operated by 3M
at its Woodbury Landfill site. These wells were installed to contain perfluorinated chemicals (PFC's)
and other pollutants which have been found at the landfill site. The wells are critical to protecting the
Cottage Grove water supply from further contamination. The main well field for the city is
approximately two miles from the site, and lies in the direction of groundwater flow from the former
landfill. Reducing the output of these wells will also reduce the margin of error necessary to protect
the water supply of our community.
We ask the MPCA to give strong consideration to the concerns about this proposal raised in a
June 11 letter from the Minnesota Department of Health. Of particular concern is the issue raised in
that letter of the fractured and karst geology of the area in which the landfill is located. Together with
the Department of Health, we question whether the groundwater models used to evaluate the 3M
request adequately account for groundwater movement through this geology. The recommendations
of the Department of Health should be followed in any MPCA action on this request.
The City of Cottage Grove will continue to work with the City of Woodbury, the MPCA, and other state
agencies to explore productive uses for the water pumped from the barrier wells at the 3M Woodbury
Landfill site and, in the future, from the 3M Cottage Grove site. This effort to find uses for that water
does not, however, outweigh the primary objective of preventing further contamination from moving
off the landfill site. To ensure this does not happen, we urge the MPCA to deny this request.
Sincerely,
Myron Bailey
Mayor
CC: Doug Wetzstein, MPCA
Gerald Stahnke, MPCA
Ginny Yingling, MDH
Katie Winogradzke, 3M
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER