ST. PAUL, MN – On Monday, March 4, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation to provide the necessary funding to begin the permanent cleanup of Andover’s WDE landfill in 2019.
The legislation provides $10.3 million for the permanent cleanup of leaking hazardous materials and the protection of groundwater. This measure was included in a larger bonding bill to address water infrastructure needs of local communities. Following its passage in the House, the legislation was passed by the Senate and was subsequently signed into law by Governor Walz this morning.
“The toxic waste and hazardous contaminants at this site have posed a looming threat to the health and safety of our community for too long,” said Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover. “I am thrilled the legislature finally approved these important dollars, which will help safeguard Anoka County’s water quality by allowing for the permanent cleanup of this site to begin this year. I am thankful for my colleagues’ support and the governor’s approval.”
The landfill currently has multiple mitigation systems working to keep the toxic waste from spreading, but a failure of one or multiple systems could result in a serious event affecting the 20,000 people who live within one mile of the site. The hazardous site contains 6,600 barrels of paint waste, PCBs, heavy metals, solvents and VOCs. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has named the Andover WDE landfill among its top priorities of the 110 closed landfills that require permanent clean up.
The bill, HF80, converts bonding projects previously financed by Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) bonds to traditional general obligation bonds
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