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<br />~~ <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />Minnesota <br />Pollution <br />Control <br />Agency <br /> <br />Cleanup 4.05 <br />2-10-98 <br /> <br />Minnesota Superfund <br />Program and Voluntary <br />Investigation and <br />Cleanup Program <br /> <br />Printed on recycled paper <br />containing at least 20 <br />percent fibers from paper <br />recycled by consumers. <br /> <br /> <br />Drycleaner Fund: Help for <br />Environmental Cleanup Costs <br /> <br />The Minnesota Legislature, working <br />with drycleaners' trade associations and <br />the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency <br />(MPCA), established the Drycleaner <br />Environmental Response and <br />Reimbursement Account (Drycleaner <br />Fund) in 1995 to help clean up <br />contamination problems faced by <br />members of the drycleaning industry. <br />The law (Minn. Stat. sections 1158.47- <br />1158.51). updated during the 1997 <br />session, provides a means to pay for the <br />cleanup of soil, ground-water or surface- <br />water contamination at drycleaning <br />facilities. Cleanup can be conducted <br />either by the MPCA or by drycleaning <br />facility owners or operators who <br />volunteer to conduct response actioDS <br />that have been approved by the MPCA. <br /> <br />Why was the drycleaner fund <br />established? <br />Some drycleaning chemicals (such as <br />perchloroethylene and hydrocarbon- <br />based solvents) were not handled <br />properly in the past, before the risks of <br />improper handling or disposal were <br />known. Past spills, leaks or careless <br />disposal of these chemicals have resulted <br />in soil, ground-water and surface~water <br />contamination at various sites <br />throughout Minnesota. Organizations <br />representing drycleaning facilities <br />wanted funding options for businesses <br />facing the cost of cleaning up problems <br />from the past. <br /> <br />Where does the funding come from <br />and bow will it be used? <br /> <br />Annual registration fees paid by <br />dryc1eaning facilities, as well as solvent <br />fees collected by retailers of particular <br />drycleaning chemicals, will be used to <br />finance the Drycleaner Fund. The fees <br />are submitted to the Minnesota <br />Department of Revenue, which <br />adrniItisters the fund. Under the law, the <br />MPCA can use the money in the Fund <br />for two primary purposes: <br /> <br />. emergency removals, environmental <br />investigations and cleanups at <br />drycleaning facilities on the state <br />Superfund list (the Pennanent List of <br />Priorities); or <br /> <br />. reimbursement of owners or operators <br />of dryc1eaning facilities who have <br />entered the MPCA's Voluntary <br />Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) <br />Program and whose sites require <br />cleanup. <br /> <br />Under either approach, the dryc1eaning <br />facility owner or operator is responsible <br />for $10,000 of the environmental <br />response costs. <br /> <br />Who is eligible for reimbursement <br />from the Drycleaner Fund? <br />With only a few exceptions, drycleaning <br />facilities that provided services to the <br />general public may apply for <br />reimbursement. (See the list of facility <br />types not eligible for reimbursement on <br />page 2.) <br /> <br />Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 520 North Lafayette Road. St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-4194 <br />(612) 296-6300, tolt-free (800) 657-3864. TOO (612) 282.5332 , . .. , <br />Uoon reouest this material can be made available in altemat~~e formats far oeoole ",,~~S<lblhtles_ <br />