Public Notice: EPA Begins Five-Year Review of NL/TARACORP/Golden Auto Superfund site
Summary
EPA is conducting the seventh five-year review of the NL Industries/TARACORP/Golden Auto Superfund site located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. These reviews ensure the remedies put in place protect public health and the environment, and function as intended by site decision documents.
A secondary smelter operated on site from 1940 until 1982, recovering lead from lead plates, battery fragments and lead containers. The waste disposal activities at the smelter and the metal refining business resulted in high lead levels in the air, soil and groundwater. In 1983, EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL). Cleanup involved removing contaminated soil, refilling and revegetating the area, cleaning or demolishing buildings, and installing a protective asphalt cover. Restrictions limited access to the area during cleanup. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in 1998, but groundwater monitoring continues. In 2009, EPA determined that the site met the requirements for Site-Wide Ready for Anticipated Use, opening the door to site reuse. Real Estate Recycling and its development subsidiary, Highway 7 Business Center LLC, currently own the site. Today, the site is home to the Highway 7 Business Center, which consists of an industrial/commercial office/warehouse building with associated parking, drive and green space areas.