4195 Nicols Rd - Storage Tank ReleaseDecember 2, 2010
Dear Mr. Miller:
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, MN 55155-4194 1 651- 296 -6300 I 800 - 657 -3864 1 651- 282 -5332 TTY 1 www.pca.state.mn.us
Mr. Dave Miller
Crown Coco, Inc.
1717 Broadway St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
RE: Storage Tank Release Investigation and Corrective Action
Site: E -Z Stop Stores, 4195 Nicols Road, Eagan, Dakota County 55122
Site ID#: LEAK 18239
Notice of Release
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has been informed that a release has occurred or contamination has
been encountered from storage tanks and/or storage tank facilities that you own and /or operate. The MPCA
appreciates your timely notification so this site can be handled in an efficient manner.
Legal Obligations
State laws require that persons legally responsible for storage tank releases notify the MPCA of the release and /or
discovery of contamination, investigate, and if necessary, clean up the release(s) and /or contamination. A person is
considered legally responsible for a petroleum tank release if the person owned or operated the tank either during or
after the release, unless specifically exempted under the law. See Minn Stat. § 115C.021 (2009). For releases of other
substances, a person is considered legally responsible if the substance discharged was under the control of the person
at the time of the discharge or release. If you believe that you are not legally responsible for this storage tank release,
please contact the project manager listed below.
If development of this property or the surrounding area is planned, State laws require that persons properly manage
contaminated soil and /or water uncovered or disturbed even if they are not legally responsible for the storage tank
release(s). Developers and other interested parties must also incorporate appropriate response actions to prevent the
further spreading of contamination. To receive MPCA review and approval of proposed response actions, please
contact the Petroleum Brownfields Program (PBP) at 651- 296 -6300 or at 1- 800 -657 -3864, or visit their Web site at
htt •: / /www. ca.state mn us /index. .h•/ waste /waste- and - cleanu. /cleanu• •ro_ anis- and -to ics /cleanu -
programs/ petroleum- brownfields- program.html ?menuid= &missing =0 &redirect =1. If petroleum contamination is
encountered during development work, the Minnesota State Duty Officer should be notified immediately.
Request to Take Corrective Action
The MPCA requests that you take steps to investigate, and if necessary, clean up the release(s) /contamination in
accordance with MPCA guidance documents. The site investigation must fully define the extent and magnitude of the
soil and/or groundwater contamination caused by the release(s) /contamination. Unless your site is considered "high
priority" (see below), you must submit a report to the MPCA which details the results of the investigation or concludes
that excavation was sufficient to clean up the release, within 10 months of the date of this letter. The MPCA reserves
the right to reject proposed corrective actions if the requirements of the site investigation have not been fulfilled.
Guidance documents and related information are located at the following Web site:
http: / /www.pca. state.mn.us /index.php /waste /waste- and - cleanup /cleanup- programs- and - topics /cleanup-
programs /petroleum- remediation- program/ petroleum - remediation - program.html. For sites contaminated by pollutants
other than petroleum, contact the MPCA project manager listed below to discuss the investigation and reporting
timeline that will be required for your site.
The MPCA considers certain site conditions as high priority, including sites with "free product" (free- floating
petroleum) that have affected or that threaten to affect drinking water supplies, sites where pollutants are being
released to surface waters such as lakes or wetlands, and sites where petroleum or other vapors have been detected
within structures or that pose fire or explosion hazards. If one or more of these situations apply to your site, you must
submit an Investigation Report Form (refer to guidance documents) to the MPCA within 90 days. The MPCA reserves
the right to reject proposed corrective actions if the requirements of the site investigation have not been fulfilled. In
addition, if you know or discover that there is free product in a well, excavation, or borehole, you must notify the
MPCA immediately of such a release and as rapidly and thoroughly as possible begin interim free product recovery
(refer to guidance documents). If you have any question as to whether your site is high priority, please contact the
MPCA project manager listed below.
St. Paul 1 Brainerd 1 Detroit Lakes 1 Duluth j Mankato 4 Marshall 1 Rochester f Willmar I Printed on 100% post- consumer recycled paper
Mr. Dave Miller
Page 2
Please review your insurance plan and contact your insurance carrier immediately after receiving this letter. Your insurance
may cover this release. However, your insurance coverage may be affected by how quickly you notify your carrier.
Reimbursement for Petroleum Site Investigations
In 1987, the legislature established the Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Fund (Petrofund) to reimburse some
responsible persons and volunteers (i.e., property owners not responsible for releases) who take corrective action for a
portion of their costs. The Petrofund is administered by the Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board (Petro
Board), which is part of the Minnesota Department of Commerce. To learn more about the Petrofund reimbursement
program contact Petrofund staff at 651- 215 -1775 or 1- 800 - 638 -0418 (in greater Minnesota only), or review the
information available at the following Web site at
http: / /www.state.mn.us /portal /mn /j sp/ content. do? programid =53 6884614 &id = -53 68813 77 &agency = Commerce.
Please be aware that Petrofund reimbursement determinations are made by Petrofund staff at the Department of
Commerce. The determinations are based on whether or not the work performed at a leak site was necessary for
investigation and corrective action, which is determined by MPCA staff, and whether or not the costs for that work
were reasonable, which is determined by Petrofund staff.
If you have not already done so, the MPCA recommends that you hire a qualified environmental consulting firm to
help you investigate and clean up the contamination on your site. A qualified consulting firm should have experience
in performing investigations of contaminated sites and in developing and implementing corrective actions. For
petroleum investigations, the consultant must be registered with the Petro Board if you wish to have your costs
considered for reimbursement. A list of registered contractors is available from the Petrofund staff. 'lease note that,
under the Petro Board's rules, (see Minn. R. ch. 2890), you must solicit a minimum of two written competitive
consultant proposals on a form prescribed by the Petro Board to incur costs eligible for reimbursement, and a
minimum of two written competitive contractor bids must also be obtained for each contractor service. Again, the
MPCA strongly encourages you to contact Petrofund staff for answers to all of your questions about bidding and the
other Petrofund reimbursement program requirements.
Required Response
Please provide notification to the MPCA by submitting the enclosed Leaksite Ownership Form to the MPCA project
manager listed below. The Leaksite Ownership Form must be completed and submitted within 30 days of your receipt
of this letter to indicate whether you intend to proceed with the requested investigation and /or corrective action. If you
do not respond within this time frame, the MPCA will assume that you do not intend to comply. In this case, the
MPCA Commissioner may issue an enforceable order that will require you, as responsible party, to take corrective
action. Failure to cooperate with the MPCA in a timely manner may result in reduced reimbursement from the Petro
Board, see Minn. R. ch. 2890. If you do not cooperate, the MPCA has the option of taking the corrective actions on
your behalf and recovering its costs from you.
If you have any questions concerning this letter or need additional information, please contact me at 651- 757 -2315.
Please reference the above LEAK # in all correspondence. If you are calling long distance, you may reach the MPCA
by calling 1- 800 - 657 -3864.
Sincerely,
sAllen Dot io n
Project Manager
Petroleum Remediation Section
Remediation Division
AED:ls
Enclosures
cc: Maria Petersen, Clerk, Eagan
Michael Scott, Fire Chief, Eagan
George Kinney, Dakota County Solid Waste Officer
Dennis McComas, Thatcher Engineering, Minneapolis