MPCA OKs cleanup of poisons dumped by 3M in 1960s

A recovery plan for a decades-old 3M dump site on the border of Woodbury and Cottage Grove will move forward after Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approval Tuesday.

The industrial disposal sites cover about 20 acres. The 3M Co. used them from 1960-66 to dump about 200,000 cubic yards of waste such as adhesive, rolls of film, rags and resins. In addition about 400,000 gallons of "wet scrap" resulting from the manufacturing of scotch tape and sandpaper were disposed there.

Paul Eger, the MPCA's acting commissioner, approved the plan. Recovery includes removing perfluorochemical-contaminated soil and hauling it to a disposal site in Rosemount, extracting and filtering groundwater, and long-term monitoring of the site.

In 2007, 3M agreed to conduct an extensive cleanup of three company-owned dumps considered the source of chemical contamination of groundwater in portions of Washington County.

The Minnesota Health Department later decided that 3M chemicals in the drinking water of six east-metro communities was diluted to the point that it poses little risk.

KEVIN GILES