Sponsor: Board of Commissioners
Title
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Appointment to the Pig’s Eye Dump Task Force
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Recommendation
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Affirm the appointment of Victoria Reinhardt to the Pig’s Eye Dump Task Force until the task force expires on June 30, 2026.
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Background and Rationale
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Long the site of unregulated dumping of municipal, commercial, and industrial waste, Pig’s Eye Dump in Saint Paul has been slated for cleanup and restoration. In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature established the Pig’s Eye Dump Task Force, a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)-led multi-agency task force charged with developing a plan to clean up and restore Pig’s Eye Dump. The task force is charged with coordinating efforts to remediate and restore the Pig's Eye Landfill Superfund site and address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination of Battle Creek, Pig's Eye Lake and nearby groundwater.
The task force must be made up of at least the commissioner of the MPCA, the commissioner of natural resources, the commissioner of health, a representative from the Metropolitan Council, a representative from the city of Saint Paul, a representative from the city of South Saint Paul, a representative from the city of Newport, a representative from Ramsey County, a representative from Dakota County, a representative from Washington County and representatives from relevant federal agencies. Meetings of the task force are open to the public and will continue every two months until January 2026. The cleanup and restoration plan will be completed in February 2026.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Owned by the city of Saint Paul, the 200-acre Pig’s Eye Dump is located within the Mississippi River’s floodplain. The surrounding area has several important shared uses, including Dakota homeland and sacred sites of significance, a regional park, recreational areas, a wastewater treatment plant and natural areas that serve as a bird migration route. The area surrounding Pigs Eye Lake (just south of the landfill) is very diverse with approximately 50% racially and ethnically diverse residents comparing to Ramsey County overall with approximately 37%.
From 1956 to 1985, the dump was used for municipal, commercial, and industrial waste and wastewater treatment sludge incinerator ash. In 1989, the MPCA placed Pig’s Eye Dump on the state’s list of Superfund sites. The first phase of addressing environmental hazards posed by the waste took place from 2000 to 2005 and included the removal and disposal of batteries and drums containing hazardous waste, cleanup of lead-contaminated surface soil, removal and consolidation of waste, filling and grading of ponds, and installation of a two-foot soil cap over the dump’s waste footprint. In addition, the cleanup included efforts to limit the amount of leachate and contaminated groundwater entering Pig’s Eye Lake and Battle Creek by installing an engineered fill material into Battle Creek and Pig’s Eye Lake.
Community Participation Level and Impact
The task force’s plan will provide recommendations on what actions should be performed for cleanup and restoration of the area. Because the remediation (cleanup) process is guided by local, state, and federal laws, the recommendations will blend the wishes of the task force and the public with government regulations. The restoration recommendations will be more directly guided by task force members and the public.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this request for board action.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
None.