Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 01/05/2015

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Environmental Policy Board (EPB) Meeting Date: 01/05/2015 By: Chris Anderson, Community Development Information Title: Review Draft Closed Landfill Land Use Plan; Case of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Purpose /Background: 5.2. The purpose of this case is to review a draft of the Closed Landfill Land Use Plan prepared by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and to provide comment and timelines for implementation. The City is not approving this Plan at this point, but providing comment on the draft to be incorporated in the next Comprehensive Plan Update. Staff is specifically seeking feedback and a recommendations on two (2) particular components of the plan related to natural resources, including preservation /restoration of an oak savanna and potential development within what the MPCA identifies as an Groundwater Area of Concern that is south of the actual footprint of the landfill. The Closed Landfill Program is established within Minnesota Statute 11513. This Statute requires that the MPCA develop a land use plan for the closed landfill and for the City to make their land use plans consistent with the Closed Landfill Land Use Plan. The Statute gives the MPCA broad land use authority over this area. The purpose of the Land Use Plan is to: 1.Protect the integrity of the landfill's remediation and monitoring systems 2.Protect human health and public safety at each landfill 3.Accommodate local government needs and desires for land use at the qualified facility with consideration for health and safety requirements Notification: Notification is not required at this stage. Observations /Alternatives: From the Introduction Section of the Closed Landfill Land Use Plan: In 1994, the Minnesota Legislature adopted the Landfill Cleanup Act (LCA) (Minn. Stat. 115B.39 -115B. 45) which created the Closed Landfill Program (CLP). Under the CLP, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is responsible for the cleanup and long term care of 112 closed, municipal, solid waste landfills throughout the State. The mission of the CLP is to manage the risk to public health and the environment that is associated with these landfills. Landfill gas migration and groundwater contamination can be serious issues at some landfills. These problems can pose a threat to the health and safety of those living or occupying land nearby. In addition, chemicals leaching from landfills can degrade groundwater and surface water resources surrounding them. The MPCA addresses the risk to public health and the environment at the closed landfills by undertaking cleanup actions, operating and maintaining remediation systems (engineered covers, gas - collection and groundwater- treatment systems) and by monitoring groundwater, surface water, and landfill gas. The risk to public health and safety is also mitigated by implementing land -use controls that minimize public exposure to landfill hazards andprotect the state's response action equipment. In other words, future use of