City officials have made arrangements with a Twin Cities engineering firm to conduct a more thorough environmental assessment of the fire-damaged Farmland Foods site, hoping the findings of the study don’t translate into a higher-than-expected cleanup bill.

Thursday, October 11, 2001

City officials have made arrangements with a Twin Cities engineering firm to conduct a more thorough environmental assessment of the fire-damaged Farmland Foods site, hoping the findings of the study don’t translate into a higher-than-expected cleanup bill.

City Manager Paul Sparks got approval from the city council Monday to contract the services of SEH, Inc., a company that specializes in environmental investigation. The future of Farmland in Albert Lea may hinge on the results of the site study.

&uot;Basically, this is the same firm that did the Phase I study, so they’re familiar with the Farmland site. Phase II is simply a more in-depth look at the environmental issues,&uot; Sparks said.

The city has requested that Phase II begin as quickly as possible, Sparks said, so the city will have time to revise its offer to Farmland if the cleanup looks more expensive than the initial $5 million estimate.

&uot;The council has some concerns about the potential costs of the remediation of the site. This study will give us an accurate appraisal and make sure there are no surprises,&uot; he said.

Jill Mickelson, project engineer with SEH, said Phase II will involve soil, air and water sampling to determine the extent of any contamination related to asbestos, cutting oils or any hazardous chemicals used at the plant over the years.

&uot;This is the stage at which we collect data from samples and lab work. It’s like detective work,&uot; she said. &uot;Phase I is similar to a background check, and Phase II is more like the interrogation. The difference is we’re dealing with a piece of industrial property instead of a person.&uot;

Mickelson said her team of engineers, environmental scientists and technicians will eventually set up some kind of local office as a base of operations while completing their investigation. They plan to begin this month and work though the end of autumn into the winter if necessary. The process can take several weeks.

&uot;Snow and cold weather isn’t a hindrance to the work. We know the city is anxious to have this assessment completed,&uot; Mickelson said. &uot;We’ve set a fairly ambitious schedule.&uot;

Ultimately, the results of the investigation must be approved by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The end goal is to identify contamination and appropriate levels of cleanup that will match any future uses of the site.

&uot;The aim of environmental cleanup is to identify the risks and control them, not restore the property to absolutely pristine condition,&uot; she said.

Mickelson said the Environmental Protection Agency insisted on complete removal of contaminants in the 1970s but discovered that approach to be prohibitively expensive. Many properties with even minor problems just sat idle without any redevelopment.

&uot;The goal now is to find appropriate uses for properties with environmental concerns to work them back into the tax base,&uot; she said. &uot;The public and the environment are protected, but the expectations for cleanup are realistic at the same time.&uot;