2005_0808_Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Friday, July 15, 2005 PCA review of Developers Voluntary Investigation and Clean Up Phase 2 W ork Plan - approved July 5,2005 (see attached documents). From on site re- ports this week, the consultant (AET) is nearly complete with their on-site bor- ing work. They have been communicating the types of materials as found and at what depths to the PCA for further consultation. It appears there is a hard pan layer of material at approximately 45 feetwhich can b� a barrier to deeper penetration of contaminates, but further tests will be done. AET began their soil testing on June 23rd ai�d also the testing of the groui3d water contamination. They have asked for access to the city's exploration wells in the area where the TCE was detected. Staff has given permission to test out of those wells. They will also be test- ing to the north, south, east and west of these wells to t�y to identify a source. Chuck Bisck with AET will provided results fiom. the tests as they come back. . Development Moratorium ends - August 1, 2005 . Rice Creek Watershed District permit approvals - Fall 2005, Early 2006 . Environmental Cleanup - Early 2006 . Building permits (if land is under control) - Spring 2006 . Construction begins - Spring, Summer 2006 (infrastructu�e, cc�mix�.ereial sec- tion and 80 units of housing). — �i � � � 1 ' rri .�1 �'.•��Y��r�'i�j�'r� -1 d � � �'� �f ��`�� I �1 �� • = Attached is Judy ��elgen's recent article from the Star Tribune ("Twin Lakes Pollution = Problems Slipping By"). It raises a number of questions about the status of previous and current environmental clean-up needs in tf�e Twin La��es area. It also raises policy issues about how the city oversees environmental clea2�-up, and what the city requires from re- developers to ensure that needed clean-up actually occurs. Staffs response: The article misconstrued much of the information collected by Ms. Helgen (for a"class research project" - not a journalistic article) from the City and the PCA. The bottom line is the City is not the governmental agency t�iat has juris- diction and expertise to enforce current state and federaX et�vironmeutal clean up standards. That is the job of the PCA. The same staff at the PCA are working on this project with the developers as were involved in 1994 when the first redevelop- ment of Twin Lakes occurred under the Voluntary Investigation Cleanup program [VIC} �ndlax the Voluntary Petroleum Investigation Cleanup program (VPIC). The City currently has and always has had a great working r��ations}�ip with the PCA. City staff has the confidence in their professional expertise to ensure that the existing laws regarding clean up are enforced to the highest standard under the guidance of the VIC and VPIC processes. .�