Remediation

Soil and Surface Water Remediation

Cleanup of the Rice Creek Commons portion of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) in Arden Hills was completed in November 2015. The county cleaned the property beyond minimum standards to allow for unrestricted land use status – including residential or recreational use – the highest standard of environmental remediation.

The county’s environmental cleanup work was overseen by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) through its Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) program and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The site received a Certificate of Completion, the highest level of liability assurance available under Minnesota law, verifying the successful completion of all soil environmental remediation, from the MPCA in 2016.

Based on the county’s remediation work, the EPA and MPCA removed soil and surface water from the federal Superfund list (National Priorities List) on September 23, 2019, and the state Superfund list (Permanent List of Priorities) on April 22, 2020.

Groundwater Remediation

An on-site treatment system for groundwater operated by the US Army pumps contaminated groundwater and sends it to a treatment system. The Army will continue to be responsible for groundwater treatment until cleanup goals are achieved and groundwater is delisted from the National Priorities List. The Rice Creek Commons development will receive water from Saint Paul Regional Water Services.

Links:

• Environmental FAQs (11/1/2023)
• Rice Creek Commons Remediation by the Numbers
• Certificate of Completion
• MPCA Delisting from State Superfund Permanent List of Priorities
• EPA Partial Deletion of Superfund Site from National Priorities List
• US Army TCAAP Restoration Advisory Board (RAB)
• EPA TCAAP Superfund Site
• MPCA TCAAP Superfund Site