The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments until 4:30 p.m. June 26 on an environmental assessment worksheet related to the 3M Oakdale surface water diversion project, located in Washington County.
3M Chemical Operations, LLC is proposing a project to collect surface water upstream of the Abresch Disposal Site to reduce polyfluoroalkyl substances in stormwater discharge from the site. The Abresch Disposal Site is the largest of three former disposal sites that comprise the Oakdale Disposal Site, a state and federal superfund site. 3M is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to remediate soil and groundwater at the site. The project is proposed to further reduce PFAS impacts to stormwater discharge from the site.
The proposed project would collect surface water upstream of the site and divert it in a 0.74-mile-long surface water conveyance pipe to a three-acre flood retention basin, where water would then be re-introduced into the natural flow of the watershed. The conveyance pipe would bypass the Abresch Disposal Site, thus bypassing PFAS detected within the site. This would reduce the discharge of PFAS in surface water and improve downstream surface water quality in the Twin Cities east metropolitan area.
A copy of the environmental assessment worksheet is available on the project page of the DNR website.
A print copy may be requested by calling 651-259-5522.
The environmental assessment worksheet is also available for public review at the following locations:
- Oakdale Library, 1010 Heron Ave. N., Oakdale, MN 55128
- DNR Library, 500 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN 55155
- Hennepin County – Minneapolis Central Library, Government Documents, Second Floor, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401
The environmental assessment worksheet notice was published in the May 27 EQB Monitor, a publication of the Environmental Quality Board.
Comments on the environmental assessment worksheet must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26.
- Email comments should be sent to [email protected] with “3M surface water diversion” in the subject line.
- Mail comments should be sent to:
Becky Horton, EAW Project Manager
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road, Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155-4025
Anyone providing a mailing address or submitting comments via email will receive a copy of the subsequent decision document, which will include responses to comments. Because all comments and related information are part of the public record for this environmental review, commenters’ names and email or postal addresses will be published and publicly available as they appear in the materials commenters submit.