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Government center construction: buried fuel oil, 1,500 tons of contaminated soil removed; work two weeks delayed
Summary
Contractor Contegrity reported about 1,500 tons of contaminated soil (number 1 and number 2 fuel oil) were removed from the former Foley School site; remediation costs totaled about $111,000 and construction lost roughly two weeks of schedule.
Contegrity Group project manager Jim Wollman told the Benton County Board of Commissioners that crews encountered contaminated soil during excavation at the government center site — the former Foley School — and removed about 1,500 tons of material.
Wollman said third-party testers were on site during removal and that the contamination consisted of number‑1 and number‑2 fuel oil, consistent with a buried heating-oil tank near the old boiler room. The contaminated material was transported to a licensed facility in Becker (VONCO) for profiling, testing and storage.
Wollman said the county had budgeted $200,000 for potential soil corrections; the final cost for testing, disposal and trucking was about $111,000. He said the remediation caused roughly a two-week delay (Aug. 25–Sept. 4) but that footing and foundation work resumed and would continue "if the weather holds," with steel erection planned after foundations.
Commissioners asked about prior environmental reports. One commissioner noted an earlier MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) “clean bill of health” letter from roughly 2001; board members and staff said subsequent site-specific borings and test pits performed in 2023 found only trace hydrocarbons in some locations and that the recently excavated contamination was in a spot missed by earlier testing. Wollman said crews dug until they reached “fresh clean dirt” at the edges of the excavation and backfilled with clean granular fill.
Wollman also reported limited asbestos-containing material (a single pipe wrap sample) that was disposed of according to MPCA standards; he said asbestos was not a widespread problem. The total remediation tab, including asbestos handling, testing and disposal, was included in the roughly $111,000 figure.
Wollman told the board the project remains in early site/construction phases (footings and foundations) and that the team expects to provide another update in about a month, with photos and additional detail.
