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Rice Creek Commons soil and surface water from state’s Superfund list

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has removed soil and surface water at the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) from the state’s Superfund list, marking a milestone in the Rice Creek Commons project. This action follows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s partial delisting of the site from its National Priorities List in September 2019. Groundwater contamination associated with TCAAP will remain on the state and federal Superfund lists until the cleanup goals have been achieved.

Ramsey County purchased 427 acres of the larger TCAAP site in 2013 and over the next three years cleaned up the soil to residential standards, under the oversight of the MPCA. The combined purchase and cleanup cost was $30 million. During demolition of the remaining buildings, 93% of the concrete, metal and other materials were recycled or reused.

The TCAAP property was placed on the federal National Priorities List as the New Brighton/Arden Hills Superfund site in 1983. As a part of the remediation work, Ramsey County worked with the MPCA through its Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup program and was issued a Certificate of Completion in 2016 for the 427-acre redevelopment area. The U.S. Army will continue to operate the existing groundwater cleanup system on the site for many years to come.

In 2016, Ramsey County and the City of Arden Hills selected Alatus LLC as the developer for Rice Creek Commons, the proposed development at the TCAAP site. 

Read the press release

Posted on Friday, May 1, 2020 - 1:50 p.m.