12-01-2025 JDA Work Session Packet

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Joint Development Authority TCAAP Redevelopment Project AGENDA ITEM 3a MEMORANDUM DATE: December 1, 2025 TO: Joint Development Authority Board of Commissioners FROM: Directors Mitchell and Jagoe, and Larina DeWalt, Ramsey County SUBJECT: Discussion of Building 116 Background and Function Building 116 was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1942 as a water treatment facility for the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) operations. The facility is located on property now owned by Ramsey County, but the building and related equipment is owned, operated, and maintained by the Army. In 1987, under the Superfund law (CERCLA – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), the EPA and MPCA implemented requirements to investigate and conduct appropriate remedial action at TCAAP due to the possibility of contamination at the site. The Army, as responsible party, was required to treat the contaminated groundwater in the underlying and adjacent aquifer and installed a remediation system on-site, known as the TCAAP Groundwater Recovery System (TGRS), to do so. The TGRS is composed of multiple components: primarily wells, piping, and remediation treatment technology. Extraction wells on the property pump contaminated groundwater through a network of underground pipes to the air stripper system located in Building 116. Once the water is treated (contaminants of concern removed), it is pumped and discharged to a gravel pit on the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) where it infiltrates back into the ground. When the Army sold 427 acres of land to Ramsey County in 2013, the property still included a variety of infrastructure, buildings, and equipment related to the past uses of the site. Some of those remaining site attributes, such as rail lines, sewer lines, buildings, and roads were demolished and removed by Ramsey County after acquisition. Other minor ancillary items that still remain, such as power poles, will be removed or relocated as necessary as part of the site preparation work. At the time of land transfer, it was understood that Building 116 was a component of the necessary existing site infrastructure that was to remain. Future development plans were expected to accommodate this infrastructure. Previous Approaches Building 116 sits in an area zoned for open space within the TRC (TCAAP Redevelopment Code), adjacent to area planned for district stormwater facilities, known as the natural resources corridor (NRC).