Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant
The Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant was a United States Army ammunition plant located in Ramsey County, Minnesota in the current boundaries of the suburbs of Arden Hills and New Brighton, bounded by County Road I to the north, I-35W to the west, U.S. Route 10 to the southwest, County Highway 96 to the south, and Lexington Avenue to the east. The site had 255 buildings across 2,382 acres (9.64 km2).[1] Current land redevelopment involves the removal of these buildings.
The site was added to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site on September 8, 1983.[2] The soil, sediments, groundwater, and surface water surrounding the plant were contaminated with base neutral acids, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, cyanide, and explosives.[2] These contaminants entered Rice Creek and from there the ground water in New Brighton.[3]
Initially, the plant was known as the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant but it was renamed the Twin Cities Arsenal in 1946 and finally, in 1963, the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.[4]
History
The TCAAP was a product of the government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) war materials production program established by the
The Twin Cities Ordnance Plant began production in March, 1942 making
Future of Site
After a bid to make TCAAP the new home for the
Joint Development Authority
Through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), the City of Arden Hills and Ramsey County have created a Joint Development Authority (JDA). This entity will be responsible for implementing the City and County approved Master Plan for the site, issuing Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and negotiating development agreements with private developers. The JDA meets monthly, on the first Monday of the month, at Arden Hills City Hall at 5:30 p.m.[7]
Source of drinking water contamination
In 1987 the TCAAP was positively identified as the source of Volatile organic compound (VOCs) contamination in New Brighton's water supply, first identified in July 1981. The contamination consisted of Trichloroethylene (TCE) at levels ranging from a few parts per billion to over two hundred parts per billion.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant". United States Army Plants. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ a b "NEW BRIGHTON/ARDEN HILLS/TCAAP (USARMY) NEW BRIGHTON, MN". Superfund Site. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ a b "History of Water System and Ground Contamination". City of New Brighton. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "TWIN CITIES ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT: An Inventory of Its Plant Files at the Minnesota Historical Society". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "Army ammunition plant: An early history".
- ^ "Soil Screening Guidance | Superfund | US EPA". www.epa.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.
- ^ "About TCAAP Redevelopment | Arden Hills, MN - Official Website".