Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I emailed last week with on update on my efforts to secure funding to permanently clean up the WDE landfill in Andover. I wanted to take a minute this week to provide you with a quick progress report on this matter.
Yesterday, the House Capital Investment Division approved the inclusion of the remaining $4.3 million to start the clean-up project in a bill that was heard in that committee. This development is great news, but this approval doesn’t guarantee anything. In order for this site to be cleaned up in 2019, a bill providing the remaining $4.3 million that is required must be signed into law by the end of February.
For context, at the end of last legislative session the legislature had, at the time, fully funded this project. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency opened the project up to bids, but the contractor that was chosen to carry out the project later came back and indicated an additional $4.3 million would be needed to begin. If the funding isn’t signed into law by February’s end, the bidding process starts completely over, which would delay this long overdue project even more.
The bill I mentioned above needs to gain the approval of additional committees in the coming weeks, and I’ll continue doing everything I can to make sure this funding remains in the bill as it works its way through the process. As many of you know, this project is of the utmost importance to our community. This site continues to pose a serious threat to the quality of Anoka County’s water and air. The danger of leaking hazardous contaminants remains a threat to the health and safety of families, and it is absolutely imperative we provide the funding to get this project started.
Please contact me if you have any questions and stay tuned for more information and updates soon.
Best,
Peggy