Soil Vapors: Senator Asks EPA To Cover Any Clean-Up Costs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it plans to pay for remediation in any homes contaminated by underground chemical vapors in St. Louis Park. In a letter to the agency Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she wants officials to extend the same assurance to any other public buildings that might also need to be decontaminated.

Owners of about 270 properties were notified this week about the possibility of harmful vapors seeping into basements. The area is roughly centered on the intersection of Highway 7 and Wooddale Avenue, just west of Minneapolis, and includes homes, schools, churches and community buildings.

“A number of these structures provide services to the young and elderly, groups that are especially vulnerable to the effects of VOC exposure. I would encourage you to include them in your remediation commitment,” Klobuchar wrote.VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are chemicals found in several household cleaners. They’re also used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing. Investigators are still trying to determine the source of the ground pollution, and say several machinery shops have operated in the area, historically and today.

Klobuchar’s letter urged a “comprehensive and thorough approach” from the EPA. She requested a timeline, as well as a clarification on the agency’s role in the investigation, which started when the state found the chemicals in well water. She also asked that it expand the boundaries of its investigation beyond the 270 properties if it finds reason to do so.

An EPA spokesman could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

The senator’s staff plan to attend two public meetings set up to share information about the soil vapors with residents. Both are at St. Louis Park Recreation Center, 3700 Monterey Dr. The first is 7 p.m. Dec. 13, and the second is 2 p.m. Dec. 15.