Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
ANOKA COUNTY
FRIDLEY

Congressional District # 05

BOISE CASCADE/ONAN CORP./MEDTRONICS, INC.

EPA ID# MND053417515
Last Updated: October, 2006

Site Description

The Boise Cascade/Onan Corp./Medtronics, Inc. site covers 183 acres in Fridley, Minnesota. The National Pole and Treating Company, later the Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, treated wood from 1921 until 1961 at this location. Operations at the site first used creosote to treat wood for railroad ties and for utility poles. The company began using pentachlorophenol (PCP) to treat its wood products in 1958 and continued this practice until 1961, when all operations stopped. In 1964, the Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company and the National Pole Treating Company were purchased and merged into the Boise Cascade Company. The Onan Corporation acquired 133 acres of the Boise Cascade property, and Medtronic Corporation purchased the remaining 50 acres. Both of these new owners built commercial and manufacturing facilities on the site. In 1979, Onan and Medtronic uncovered large quantities of creosote from past treatment operations. Approximately 3,000 people lived within one mile of the site. Several residences are located within 500 feet of the site. Two elementary schools and several small urban parks are located within one mile of the site at the time of the investigation. Groundwater contamination from this site was a major concern, because the towns of Fridley and Moundsview use water drawn from municipal wells located near the site. 

Site Responsibility

This site was addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible party (PRP) actions. 

Threats and Contaminants

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) detected high levels of organics, including creosote and phenols, in on-site groundwater monitoring wells, sediments, and soils. 

Cleanup Progress

Sampling of all contaminated areas has indicated that the contaminants have been either removed from the site or confined within a containment vault built at the site. Work was completed in 1986 at both properties on the site to address the contamination problems. The work included excavating and disposing of contaminated soil, filling in the excavated areas with clean soil, removing and treating contaminated groundwater at the site, constructing a fence around the site, and monitoring the air and surface water within the site vicinity.

In 1984, Medtronic entered into a consent decree with the state to help pay the cost of addressing the contamination of its part of the site. Onan Corporation, Boise Cascade, and two railroad companies went to court to decide their individual responsibilities and an acceptable solution to the contamination of the Onan property. All cleanup work at the Boise Cascade site has been completed. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List in early 1995. 

A five-year review report was signed for this site on September 15, 1999 and a second five-year review by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was completed in September 2004.  The report stated that long-term groundwater monitoring was continuing and data indicated that the contaminant plume was decreasing in lateral and vertical extent.  There were no known drinking water wells that were being impacted by the contaminant plume.  The remedy was functioning as intended and was protective of human health and the environment in the short- and long-term.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
bernard schorle (schorle.bernard@epa.gov)
(312) 886-4746

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
Don De Blasio
(312) 886-9749

Aliases

OLD NATIONAL POLE
FORMERLY NATIONAL POLE TREATING CO
BOISE CASCADE/ONAN CORP./MEDTRONICS,INC.
BOISE CASCADE/ONAN/MEDTRONICS

 

Site Profile Information

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