RE: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site

["Gillon, Peter" <GillonP@gtlaw.com>]

This is an interesting announcement in that EPA is claiming they have
accomplished a redevelopment of a brownfield when all that has occurred is
that EPA completed a routine soil removal action for $750,000.  If the
announcement is correct, there was no redevelopment and certainly no end
user.  EPA has merely left behind a vacant lot with a lot less soil.   

-----Original Message-----
From: cpeo@cpeo.org [mailto:cpeo@cpeo.org]
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 1999 5:59 PM
To: cpeo-brownfields@igc.org
Subject: EPA: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site



EPA: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site

BEMIDJI, Minn., Sept. 8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5
said
today that a $750,000 cleanup is now complete at the Cedar Services site,
Bemidji, Minn.

The 38-acre Brownfield site, about 1/4 mile east of the intersection of
State Highway 197
and County Road 404 (a.k.a Carr Lake Road), was a telephone- and
powerline-pole
treatment operation from 1971 to 1980. Brownfields are abandoned or
underused
industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is slowed by real
or perceived
environmental contamination.

EPA's primary concern was to eliminate pentachlorophenol (PCP)
contamination at the site.
PCP is a probable cancer-causing agent in humans. Long-term exposure to the
chemical
may damage the liver, kidneys, blood, and nervous system.

The project was completed in three phases: (1) preliminary removal of
hazardous materials
by EPA in fall 1997; (2) sampling and analysis by the Minnesota Department
of Agriculture
(MDA) and the Security State Bank of Bemidji in spring and summer 1998; and
(3)
additional hazardous materials removal by EPA beginning in June 1999. 

The 1999 cleanup included:

-- Disposal of about 450 tons of PCP-contaminated surface soils, and steel
and concrete debris, primarily from the east side of the site. This
material was sent to a facility in Belleville, Mich.

-- Incineration of about 250 tons of PCP-contaminated soils from the former
boiler area, sent to a facility in Aragonite, Utah.

-- Disposal of 12 drums of PCP liquids, sent today to a facility in Calvert
City, Ky.

-- Disposal of 21 cubic yards of asbestos boiler insulation, sent to a
facility in Canyon, Minn.

An empty warehouse and a few maintenance sheds remain at the site.

The cleanup began at the request of the MDA, and was mostly paid for and
managed by a
Chicago-based Superfund emergency response team.

``It's nice to see another Brownfield site cleaned up and moving toward
redevelopment,''
said EPA Regional Administrator Francis X. Lyons. ``People often associate
Brownfields
with urban areas, but there are many sites just like Cedar Services in
smaller communities
all across the midwest.''

Said Bemidji Mayor Doug Peterson, ``We're pleased this work is wrapping up
at one of
the area's most visible Brownfield sites. From here, we look forward to
supporting Security State Bank and MDA in their efforts to redevelop the
property.''

Next steps for the site include: a revised environmental assessment,
continued ground water monitoring, and any additional work required by the
MDA for site closure. EPA also hopes to enter into a Prospective Purchaser
Agreement with the next owner of the site. The
agreement -- a tool EPA often uses to encourage reuse of formerly polluted
sites - provides the future owner with liability protection for past
contamination known to be at the site. The MDA can also offer similar
liability assurances to future owners.

For more information about the site, call: Bill Mawe, Security State Bank,
218-751-1510. 

SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency