St. Louis County moves forward with Phase 1 environmental review for Canyon gravel operation and potential landfill

St. Louis County commissioners voted to move a Phase 1 environmental assessment forward for a proposed gravel operation and potential regional landfill near Canyon, using a $2.1 million mineral tax grant that the county secured from the state legislature.

Commissioner Nelson moved the board action, which was placed on the agenda as a finance-and-budget item; Commissioner Harlow seconded. Director Fink, St. Louis County’s environmental services director, presented the item and said the review covers both the gravel operation and the eventual landfill footprint. He described the county’s recently completed regional solid waste management plan — a 10-year plan the county said is required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency — and said the intended site includes nearly 900 acres and conceptual gravel yields of more than 95 million cubic yards in early designs for a smaller portion of the site. Fink noted the county’s prior work on the project, including an earlier $100,000 road improvement funded from the same legislative appropriation as a first-phase use of the money.

“It’s gonna take probably 10 years to permit a facility like this,” Director Fink said during the presentation, describing the permitting horizon and the need to start environmental review early. He and other staff said the long timeline is consistent with the scale of a new regional landfill and will give the county time to coordinate regional needs, address legacy dump sites and protect groundwater and surface water.

The county’s proposal, as presented, would allow the county to use the mineral tax grant to contract with a consultant (transcript identifies the prospective contractor as Northeast Hackman Boat Services) to complete the Phase 1 environmental assessment. Commissioners discussed regional benefits including long-term gravel resources for county roads and potential capacity to deal with legacy dumps and solid-waste needs for multiple counties. The board approved the action and referred the matter to the full board agenda at a subsequent meeting for final action on contracts and next steps.

Staff and directors emphasized the project’s regional scope and the need to continue outreach and technical studies before moving into permitting and design.

The meeting record lists Representative Lislegard and an identified state senator as having led legislative support for the mineral tax appropriation that funded the grant; staff acknowledged their role in securing the appropriation.