Star Tribune highlights expanded monitoring at Ford Area C
The installation of more monitoring wells like these at toxic Ford Area C in St. Paul is a big win for river advocates. (Photo by Tom Reiter)
Nearly two years after FMR and the Capitol Region Watershed District urged the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to require more groundwater monitoring at Ford's riverfront dumpsite, new monitoring wells have been installed.
This expanded system will provide a better understanding of how much of the hazardous waste buried in the pile at Area C — including paint and solvents — is leaking into the Mississippi River.
Ford's Area C dumpsite sits on the Mississippi River floodplain just below the Ford bridge, near the former assembly plant site. While the plant site has been cleaned up and is beginning its transformation into a dense urban village, Area C remains largely overlooked as it has for decades.
Jennifer Bjorhus summarized the site's history and potential future in a recent Star Tribune article.
Community interest in Area C is high, as was evidenced by the 150 people who attended an MPCA meeting about the site back in February. We're glad to see expanded oversight of Area C, and we hope that the site has a cleaner future.
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