News Releases from Region 05

EPA begins public comment period on proposed plan to clean up residential areas at the St. Regis Superfund site on Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota

EPA will hold a public meeting July 30, to present the plan and take public comments

CASS LAKE, MINN. (June 17, 2019) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, will begin a 60-day public comment period on a proposed residential cleanup plan for the St. Regis Paper Co. Superfund site in Cass Lake, Minnesota.

The former wood-treatment facility operated from 1950s-1980s using creosote and pentachlorophenol that contaminated the soil and groundwater. In 1984, EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List, a list of the nation’s most contaminated sites. EPA will review and respond to comments before finalizing a cleanup plan.

The proposed cleanup plan involves:

• Removing contaminated soil from affected residential areas and replacing it with clean soil or applying a clean-soil cover.
   

• Managing most of the removed soil at an on-site facility.
   

• Disposing of the heavily-contaminated soil at an off-site facility.
   

• Monitoring soil stored on-site.

  EPA will accept comments on the proposal from June 17, until August 15, 2019. You may submit comments:

• Via email at: leon.heriberto@epa.gov;

• Mail them to Heriberto Leon, EPA Region 5 (mail code SE-6J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604;

• Or, submit comments online athttps://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/publicnotices/forms/st-regis-paper-co-public-comment-form
   

  EPA will hold a public meeting to present the cleanup plan and hold a public comment session on Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m., at the Cass Lake-Bena Elementary School, 15 Fourth St. NW, Cass Lake.

  For more information about the site, visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/st-regis-paper.