EPA removes portion of the South Minneapolis Residential Soil Contamination site from Superfund National Priorities List

October 1, 2019

For Immediate Release: No. 19-OPA074

MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 1, 2019) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed part of the South Minneapolis Residential Soil Contamination Superfund site from the National Priorities List (NPL). About 600 residential properties where cleanup has been completed has been delisted. A small number of residential properties will remain on the NPL until EPA completes the cleanup.

“EPA is making good on its commitment to pick up the pace of Superfund cleanups so the sites can be restored to productive use,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cathy Stepp. “Promoting redevelopment is part of EPA’s core mission and helps spur the local economy in communities near Superfund sites.”
Under the Trump Administration, EPA’s Superfund program has reemerged as a priority to fulfil and strengthen the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. In FY 2018, EPA deleted all or part of 22 sites from the Superfund’s NPL, the largest number of deletions in one year since FY 2005 and a significant increase over the past few years.

The site is near a former manufacturing plant where arsenic-based pesticides were made. Experts believe that during plant operations, the powder-like arsenic trioxide was blown into the surrounding neighborhoods and contaminated the soil. Arsenic contamination is no longer a threat to human health or the environment at the properties that have been cleaned up.

EPA proposed the partial deletion on August 1, 2019, and held a 30-day comment period. The agency’s response to comments and the final rule to delete the site can be found in docket: EPA-HQ-2006-0759, accessed through https://regulations.gov .

Background

The NPL is a roster of the nation’s most contaminated sites that threaten human health or the environment. The sites on the list are eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. EPA removes sites from the list once all the remedies are successfully implemented and no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment.
To learn more about this site: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/south-minneapolis-soil.
 
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