Minnesota Brownfields Soil Reuse Study Identifies Significant Cost-Saving and Carbon Reduction Opportunities

Stoel Rives environmental analyst Steve Heurung was among the co-authors of a Minnesota Brownfields report commissioned by Hennepin County to evaluate the potential for cost savings associated with the off-site reuse of soil at brownfield sites and the legal framework surrounding soil reuse.

The report found that significant cost-saving were realized by on-site and off-site reuse at a set of eleven Minnesota brownfields sites surveyed in the study. The report also indicated that soil reuse can contribute to a decrease in carbon dioxide production. Furthermore, it identified several regulatory barriers facing the off-site reuse of marginally contaminated soil at Minnesota redevelopment sites.

The report concluded that in order to facilitate off-site reuse of marginally contaminated soil, adjustments to current Minnesota Statutes are necessary and the current Minnesota Pollution Control Agency off-site reuse policy for regulated fill needs to be simplified and made more practical.

Read the full study and appendices (PDF)