This browser does not support the Video element.
BURNSVILLE, Minn. (KMSP) - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a third extension as it tries to cleanup one of the largest toxic landfills in the state, the Freeway Landfill in Burnsville. It is the third extension the MPCA has asked for this year as they try to reach an agreement between the owner of the landfill, Mike McGowan, Dakota County, and the City of Burnsville.
The State of Minnesota has been trying to clean-up the landfill ever since it shut down in 1990. Throughout the summer, the MPCA has been conducting water tests at the site, which is a 150 acres that borders the 35W Freeway and the Minnesota River. MPCA officials told the FOX 9 Investigators this summer that cleanup costs could reach $60 million dollars, which would be paid for out of a state fund set up for that purpose.
In a letter asking for the extension, MPCA Remediation Division Director Kathryn Sather writes, “..we have made significant progress over these past six months in better understanding current and potential future impacts of the site as well as determining a preferred remedy..”
The MPCA is hosting a public meeting on Nov. 12, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. regarding the cleanup at Burnsville City Hall, 100 Civic Center Parkway.