Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment Pfas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lake Elmo council approves Bay West access agreement for PFAS destruction field test
Summary
The Lake Elmo City Council approved an access agreement allowing Bay West to conduct a federally funded, field-scale PFAS destruction trial using supercritical water oxidation on city-owned land at or near 3445 Ideal/Bridal Avenue; council discussed safety, transport, containment and funding.
The Lake Elmo City Council on a unanimous voice vote approved an access agreement allowing Bay West to perform a field-scale demonstration of PFAS destruction using supercritical water oxidation on city-owned land near the Public Works site and Bridal (Ideal) Avenue.
Bay West representative Susan Roberts said the test would run about "4 to 5 weeks" and that "there's no cost. This is federally funded research." Roberts described the technology as using "water at critical temperatures and pressures" to destroy carbon–fluorine bonds and said General Atomics is a project partner with long experience in supercritical water oxidation.
The council and staff pressed Bay West on safety, transport and containment. Councilmember Holtz asked whether the PFAS concentrate removed from Tablin Park would be shipped once or in multiple shipments; Roberts said MPCA expects a one-time shipment under an RFP process and that Bay West has experience transporting such materials. City legal counsel confirmed the draft agreement makes Bay West responsible for operations and indemnifies the city.
On containment, Bay West said secondary containment sized for the volume and materials would be used and any material that leaked beyond containment would be Bay West's responsibility to excavate, test and properly remove. Roberts described site restoration commitments, saying the company would remove equipment and debris and leave only the gravel pad after the test.
Council discussion acknowledged local interest in PFAS remediation and the unique opportunity to test destruction technology near a known PFAS source. The council approved the access agreement after members said the city would benefit from seeing whether the technology is effective at field scale.
The agreement directs Bay West to follow MPCA rules on transport and handling, and Bay West said funds for the demonstration are in hand and the period of performance runs through the year.
The council approved the motion to authorize the access agreement; staff will manage implementation and community outreach as Bay West begins site work in the coming weeks.
