WILLMAR -- The cost for resolving groundwater contamination near the Kandiyohi County landfill may not be as great as initially expected.
The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners learned today that barrels of paint buried in the Kandiyohi County landfill about 40 years ago are no longer generating tetrachloroethene. That means the sludge will not have to be dug up, saving the county about $4 million.
A report also indicates that a plume of vinyl chloride, a byproduct of tetrachloroethene that's been moving through the groundwater from the landfill, is headed for Shakopee Creek.
Consultants say that's good news because oxygen from the river will degrade the contaminant.
The county has spent about $500,000 in the last two years to find the source and spread of the plume. More testing will be done this winter and next summer.
