State Adds New Hope Site to Pollution Cleanup Priority List

A former industrial site in New Hope contains a pollutant that poses risk to human health and the environment, according to investigators with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The site, located at at 7516 42nd Ave. N., New Hope. used to be occupied by Electronic Industries, a former circuit board manufacturer and metal plating operation. The MPCA said the site tested for elevated levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in soil, soil vapor and groundwater. The contamination has been linked to a chemical release from an underground storage tank decades ago.

TCE is a man-made chemical commonly found in wood finishes, adhesives and metal cleaners. It is a known human carcinogen strongly linked to kidney and liver cancers.

The New Hope site was added to the state’s priority cleanup list, according to an announcement by the MPCA on May 4.

In addition, the MPCA also added two former dry cleaner sites in St. Paul and Rochester to the list.

“Adding these sites to the Minnesota Permanent List of Priorities lets us leverage our resources to address contamination,” said MPCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka in a news release. “Cleaning up contaminated sites to reduce exposure to pollutants is one of MPCA’s top strategic goals.”

The MPCA said it has worked on the sites for several years, but the agency said each site lacks a responsible party that is willing or able to complete the required investigation and cleanup. 

History of New Hope Site

Electronic Industries operated at the New Hope site from 1965 to 1987. The removal of an underground wastewater storage tank in 1983 revealed that it was corroded, causing a release of TCE, the MPCA said.

Following the discovery, the company at the time was ordered to conduct groundwater sampling and do environmental remediation to treat the contamination. 

However, in 1993, the city of New Hope determined the site remained hazardous to the public, condemned the property and demolished the buildings.

More than a decade later, the city addressed groundwater contamination using funding from Hennepin County. The site was then sold in 2006 to a developer, which constructed two commercial buildings. A soil vapor extraction system was installed and has operated continuously since 2006 to further address contaminated soil vapors linked to TCE.

The possible adverse health effects from breathing TCE depend on the amount in air and how long people are exposed, the MPCA said.

Furthermore, the risk of direct groundwater exposure through wells is unknown. Residents of New Hope receive their municipal drinking water from the city of Minneapolis, which treats water from the Mississippi River.

By adding the site to the state’s priority list, the MPCA can do further investigation and cleanup under Minnesota’s Superfund law.

New Hope