Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
CASS COUNTY
CASS LAKE

Congressional District # 08

ST. REGIS PAPER CO.

EPA ID# MND057597940
Last Updated: June, 2008

Site Description

The St. Regis Paper Company site occupies 125 acres within the exterior boundaries of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indian Reservation in the City of Cass Lake in Cass County, Minnesota. The Site is north of the Chippewa National Forest and west of Pike Bay and Cass Lake.

Wood treatment activities began at the site in the 1950s while the land was leased from the Great Northern Railroad. Lumber was pressure-treated with creosote, pentachlorophenol (PCP), and copper chromium arsenate. Wastewater from these processes were discharged into a number of disposal ponds, located at the site. Between 1957 and 1960, wastewater and sludges were hauled to a pit within the former city dump of the City of Cass Lake and burned. The disposal from the ponds occurred almost daily at an estimated rate of 500 gallons per day for a total of 547,500 gallons for those three years. From 1960 to 1975, unknown quantities of sludge were hauled to the city dump pit. The pit, containing the ash and unburned residuals, was eventually covered.

The Site was listed on Superfund's National Priorities List in 1984. In 1985, Champion acquired the property through a merger with the St. Regis Paper Company and closed Site operations. A large portion of the former operations area was deeded to the City of Cass Lake. In addition, portions of the Site are located on BNSF Railway property and Cass Forest Products property. As a result of the acquisition and subsequent merger with Champion International Corporation in 2000, International Paper is the current owner of the former Champion portion of the Site.

Site Responsibility

Currently, this site is being addressed through potentially responsible parties' actions under federal enforcement actions.  The PRPs are parties whom EPA has determined may be legally responsible for the Site's contamination. To date, International Paper, BNSF Railway Co., Cass Forest Products, and the City of Cass Lake are the named potentially responsible parties (PRPs). Oversight is conducted by EPA with it support agency partners, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Threats and Contaminants

Groundwater, soil, and sediment on and in the vicinity of the site have been contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Dioxins and furans, impurities in PCP, are also chemicals of concern. Additional chemicals may be added at the conclusion of the human health and ecological risk assessment currently being finalized by International Paper under Unilateral Order from EPA.

Cleanup Progress

In 1986, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) signed two Minnesota Enforcement Decision documents which outlined the response actions for each cleanup area at the site. These areas include the treatment facility, the Cass Lake City Dump Pit, a contaminated soil vault, and the extension of the Cass Lake municipal water system. In 1987, then owner Champion constructed groundwater extraction wells at both the treatment facility area and the city dump area. The contaminated groundwater is extracted, treated onsite, and then discharged into a channel between Pike Bay and Cass Lake. An onsite containment vault was constructed at the site which contains 37,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sludge from the wastewater lagoons and 4,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sludge from the city dump pit. Current owner International Paper has monitored and maintained the treatment system and soil vault since 2000.

As a result of 5-Year Reviews conducted in 1995 and 2000, initial fieldwork was conducted by EPA in October 2001 to collect data from the site to evaluate whether the response actions remain protective of human health and the environment. Dioxin, at levels above the Superfund Removal Action Levels, was encountered in shallow soils on the site property. Additional confirmatory and delineation sampling conducted by International Paper was ordered by EPA in August 2003. Removal actions for shallow soil above 1 ppb TEQ Dioxin were conducted during FY 2004, 2005, and 2006 by International Paper and BNSF Railway Co. under Orders from EPA. Additional sampling of soil, house dust, sediment, surface water, plants, invertebrates, and fish, in support of human health and ecological risk assessments was also conducted during FY 2004 by International Paper under EPA Orders.

In 2005, after analysis of the data from the sampling, EPA decided on an interim cleanup approach for dioxin and arsenic contamination in residential settled dust that was above screening levels. Necessary interim cleanup actions included an initial comprehensive cleaning of all area residences with carpet replacement, HEPA vacuum cleaning, wet wiping, steam cleaning soft furniture, and cleaning of draperies and rugs. In addition, supplemental periodic cleaning of homes, clean soil yard cover, and dust suppression to the unpaved roads was required. In 2006, under an Order from EPA, International Paper conducted all initial cleanings, the yard work, dust suppression, and continues the periodic house cleanings. Periodic cleanings are required until final cleanup actions are completed.

In November 2005, International Paper delivered to EPA the first version of the risk assessment. After an extensive evaluation of the document and significant comments by EPA and its support agency partners, International Paper submitted a revised Risk Assessment in September 2007. EPA, with its support agency partners,  completed its review of the document and in February 2008 required International Paper to generate an addendum to address deficiencies. On May 30, 2008, International Paper submitted the addendum. EPA and its support agency partners are currently reviewing that document and hope to finalize the risk assessment during the summer of 2008.

Preliminary Site risk assessment results conclude that there are unacceptable risks to human health and the environment at the Site. A Special Notice Letter was, therefore, issued to all potentially responsible parties on April 28, 2008 requesting that the parties negotiate with EPA to conduct a Feasibility Study. Feasibility Studies are used to determine what actions are needed to reduce site risks to acceptable levels. On May 29, 2008, International Paper, on behalf of the potentially responsible party group, stated their willingness to negotiate the generation of a Feasibility Study with EPA. A "good-faith" offer from the parties to EPA is due on June 28, 2008. Negotiations will conclude on July 28, 2008. If no agreement is reached, EPA will consider performing the Feasibility Study. Following that, a final decision regarding additional remedial actions will be made by EPA in consultation with its support agency partners.

A 2005 Five Year Review of the Site also concluded that additional information was needed to determine whether the groundwater remedial actions were protective of human health and the environment. In response, International Paper drilled new soil borings and monitoring wells in mid-2006 and conducted a site-wide pumping test in December 2006. The borings revealed that a tarry liquid was present in the City Dump plume. The new data also raised questions regarding how effectively the light contaminants were being contained by the extraction well system of the City Dump. During the winter of 2007-08, International Paper investigated these issues. That investigation should be completed during summer 2008.  In addition, EPA is requiring an investigation by the potentially responsible parties near ground water wells owned and operated by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to determine the effectiveness of the till between the upper aquifer and the lower aquifer from which the Band takes drinking water. The Band's well are located adjacent to the Site. International Paper will then generate a new ground water model under the oversight of the EPA and its partners at the conclusion of the investigations.

 

 

 

Success Story

During the past 5 years, the level of effort on this Site has been very high from EPA, State and Tribal regulators, the local community, and the responsible parties. The human health and ecological risk assessment alone, currently under development by International Paper, will cost over $2 million dollars. Removal actions and interim remedial actions have also reduced health risks to the local residents while work continues on a final remedy. 

Community Involvement

Public meetings are held approximately on a quarterly basis in the City of Cass Lake. A series of meetings on site reuse were held in Cass Lake and included the City of Cass Lake, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, a local interest group named the Indigenous Environmental Network, and local residents.  A public hearing was held regarding the proposed options for the interim cleanup decision.  Public comments on the proposed options were later integrated into the document that explains the EPA's decision making process (Interim Record of Decision).

Congressional Interest

Congressman James Oberstar has been very interested in the Site. In 2005, the EPA remedial project manager travelled to Washington D.C. to brief the congressman on Site progress.

Property Reuse

The Site property was zoned as commercial/industrial by the City of Cass Lake in January 2006. The surrounding residential properties were zoned residential.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
timothy drexler (drexler.timothy@epa.gov)
(312) 353-4367

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

Aliases

WHEELERS DIV
ST REGIS PAPER CO

 

Site Profile Information

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