Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
WASHINGTON COUNTY
OAKDALE

Congressional District # 04

OAKDALE DUMP

EPA ID# MND980609515
Last Updated: September, 2009

Site Description

The Oakdale Dump Site, located in Oakdale, Washington County, Minnesota, is comprised of three non-contiguous properties that were utilized for dumping from the late 1940's-1950's.  The properties, referred to as sites, are named Abresch, Brockman, and Eberle for the property owners at the time of disposal.

The Abresch is the largest of the three sites (approximately 55 acres).  The Brockman site is located immediately southwest of the Abresch site and encompasses 5 acres.  The Eberle site is located roughly 2,500 feet north of the Abresch site and is 2 acres.  

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) investigated the sites in 1980.  Analysis of wastes indicated that a variety of hazardous substances, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were disposed of in trenches at the Abresch and Brockman sites.   Soil sampling at the Eberle site revealed minimal heavy metal contamination.  

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible parties' actions.  The State of Minnesota has taken the primary lead for oversight of the project.

Threats and Contaminants

Analysis of wastes indicated a variety of hazardous substances, particularly VOCs including Isopropyl Ether (IPE) and benzene, were disposed of at the Site.  Soil sampling at the Eberle site revealed minimal heavy metals contamination.  Analysis of residential well water revealed that nine shallow wells were contaminated with hazardous substances. 

Cleanup Progress

In September 1982, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) conducted excavation tests in the trenches at the Abresch site and buried drum stockpiles were identified.  3M commissioned a surface cleanup of wastes at the Abresch site beginning in the winter of 1983.  During the excavation activities, a total of 11,500 cubic yards of waste material was removed including 4,200 empty drums, 8,700 empty 5 gallon pails, 4,660 cubic yards of contaminated soil, and 15 intact containers that were over-packed.  Most of the waste, 11,800 tons, was transported to the 3M Chemolite incinerator in Cottage Grove, Minnesota in accordance with the 1982 CO. An additional 6,500 tons of excavated waste containing more than 50 parts per million (ppm) of polychlorinated biphenols (PCB) was transported to a hazardous waste landfill for disposal. Excavated soils with low levels of contamination were treated on-site utilizing construction aeration pads.  Approximately 173,000 gallons of contaminated water was collected during excavation activities and transported for treatment at the 3M Chemolite facility waste water treatment system.

The Response Action Plan (RAP) developed pursuant to the 1983 Concent Order (CO) identified the selected remedy. The selected remedy was developed to address VOC contamination in the groundwater (GW). The plan proposed the following:

• Reconstruction or abandonment of impacted multi-aquifer wells;
• Removal of all containers and barrels of hazardous waste that were identified through the geophysical survey;
• Removal and/or treatment of heavily contaminated soils in the Abresch and Brockman sites;
• Construction and operation of a shallow GW pump out system; and
• Establishment of a long term monitoring well network that will detect changes in GW quality

The 1983 CO and RAP have been adopted as decision documents to address VOC contamination by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), United States Environmental Protecteion Agency (EPA), and 3M.

Abandonment of multi-aquifer wells was completed in 1984.  There had previously been 44 multi-aquifer wells identified within the GW plume. Of these 44 wells, 39 were abandoned, 3 were added to the monitoring well network, and 2 were found to be single aquifer wells completed within an unaffected aquifer.  Wells were abandoned in accordance with the MDH Water Well Construction Code.

Construction of the GW extraction system was completed in August 1985.  The system initially consisted of 12 pumping wells within the glacial drift aquifer that discharged impacted GW to the sanitary sewer for treatment at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Facility, a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) facility operated by the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES).

A GW monitoring well network was established to monitor remedial action.  The March 1985 Groundwater Monitoring Plan (GMP) describes the initial monitoring plan and has since been updated for operational improvements. The GMP and GW extraction system were updated in 2003 to optimize system performance. Changes were implemented based on previous data collected, previous performance and trend analysis performed for specific monitoring and extraction wells. The 2003 changes to the GW extraction system included reducing the number of extraction wells from 12 to 7. PW-7, PW-8 and PW-9 were converted from extraction wells to monitoring wells and PW-5 was abandoned. The decision to change the purpose of these wells or abandon them was based on well performance and existing operational redundancy.

The first Five-Year Review was completed by EPA in March 1993; the second Five-Year Review was completed by the MPCA in March 1998.  The third Five-Year Review was completed by EPA in April 2004 and found that the groundwater remedy was removing VOCs from the glacial drift and is controlling plume migration.  The remedy is functioning as intended and is protective of human health and the environment in the short-term.  Long-term protectiveness will be ensured once institutional controls (ICs) are in place.

Congressional Interest

U.S. Representative McCollum expressed interest in June 2006 to learn more about U.S. EPA's role at the site.  The State of Minnesota has been the lead in the past few years.

Property Reuse

No remedial action was determined to be necessary for the Eberle site in the RAP and the site has since been redeveloped as a city park.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
margaret gielniewski (gielniewski.margaret@epa.gov)
(312) 886-6244

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
cheryl allen
(312) 353-6196

Aliases

ABRESCH BARRELL & DRUM
OAKDALE DSPL SITE
OAKDALE DUMP SITES
ABRESCH BARRELL & DRUM CO
NO NAME SITE

 

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.