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Sherburne County asks MPCA for stronger review of Elk River Landfill north‑area proposal
Summary
County staff recommended and commissioners approved filing detailed scoping comments with the MPCA, citing monitoring and remediation challenges, possible impacts to Rice Lake wild‑rice waters, the need for alternative‑site analysis and consideration of waste‑processing technologies.
Sherburne County staff recommended, and the Board approved, submitting detailed comments to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on the Elk River Landfill proposed north development scoping environmental assessment worksheet (EAW). Commissioners voted to file comments as drafted with three agreed edits and authorized staff to finalize the letter after attending the MPCA public meeting.
Department staff said the draft scoping documents did not fully address Minnesota siting rules and that the proposed site raises monitoring and remediation concerns because of local hydrology and proximity to wetlands and Rice Lake, which is identified as a protected wild rice water body. Staff recommended the scoping EAW be amended to include an alternate‑site analysis, additional study of potential visual and transportation impacts, leachate management, and consideration of alternative processing technologies that could reduce reliance on landfilling in line with the state waste management hierarchy.
Commissioners suggested language edits for accuracy and cultural sensitivity (changing a tribal reference to "Indigenous peoples") and asked staff to emphasize "reduce" (rather than "increase") landfilling in the county’s comment letter. Staff recommended approving the comments now but subject to final review after attending the MPCA public meeting in Livonia‑Zimmerman on the following day so staff could make minor adjustments if new facts emerged.
A motion to approve the draft comments as amended (including the indigenous‑people phrasing, the change to "reduce" landfilling, and subject to final review following the MPCA public meeting) passed on a board vote. Staff stressed that submitting these scoping comments is not an approval or denial of the project but a request for a more thorough environmental review and that an appropriately scoped environmental impact statement (EIS) may be needed to assess risks fully.
Ending: Staff will attend the MPCA public meeting and finalize the comment letter as authorized. If significant new issues arise at the MPCA hearing, staff said it would seek further board direction or a special meeting prior to final submittal.
