Itasca County Underground Storage Tanks Removal

Stories from the source

Itasca County managed three tax-forfeited parcels of land which contained five underground storage tanks (USTs). The land parcels were in the Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMA) of the cities of Bovey, Calumet, and Keewatin. In each city’s Wellhead Protection Plans, the USTs were identified as a potential risk to the drinking water supply. 

Bovey

Calumet

Keewatin

MDH planner Chris Parthun initiated the process to remove the underground storage tanks in 2018 with the help of each city’s wellhead protection plan manager. Parthun also coordinated with a real estate specialist and the Itasca County Administrator for their expertise. A stakeholder meeting was held to discuss an action plan, and it was decided all five USTs would be removed to eliminate the potential risk of contamination through groundwater into the drinking water supply. Bids were obtained by Itasca County for all five tanks to be removed by one vendor, and all bids were more than the $10,000 maximum limit for SWP Implementation Grants. Bovey submitted an SWP Implementation Grant application in the fall of 2018, which was approved. Calumet and Keewatin followed shortly after in summiting their own applications, which were also successfully approved. The Itasca County Board adopted resolutions for each of the three communities where the Itasca County would oversee the contracted work as well as pay for any additional costs above the awarded $10,000 dollars from the Implementation Grants. In total, the project cost $46,250 dollars, with $30,000 coming from Implementation Grants to complete. Source water protection grants are made possible through the Clean Water Fund.

In 2019, the project to remove the five underground storage tanks was successfully completed. To ensure protection from further groundwater impacts from potential leaks from the tank’s contents, the case files remain open with continued outreach to the communities. These efforts addressed a pressing public health concern in communities supplied by small public water systems, helping reduce health risks and promote health equity. Finally, upon the project’s completion, parcel management was placed in the hands of each public water system, and local, county, and state working relationships were strengthened. Calumet, Bovey, and Keewatin were recognized for their efforts as finalists for the Source Water Protection Awards administered by MDH and MRWA.  

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