The following is a post regarding Heritage Park from Rep. Keith Ellison, 58B. He writes:
Hey folks, let me tell you what I know about the situation in Heritage Park. As you know, some neighbors came to our monthly EJ meeting to talk about strange odors, health concerns, and black ooze over at Heritage Park. Several of us went over to Heritage Park to check things out. We smelled, saw, experienced several things of concern. Among them were a strong stink, darkened water in the "rain garden" (its drainage ditch)and a petro-looking sheen on the water. Residents reported diarrhea, headaches, and other problems. That night Susan Breedlove, an EJ committee member, called out the media and they got on it. There was a Star Tribune article that I found somewhat belittling. There was also a strong article in the City Pages that wasn't alarmist, but did raise legitimate concern. I called the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPAC's) Spill team. The spill team, some city officials, and the developer got out there the next day. They took water samples, drained the stinky drainage ditch, turned over and added wood chips to the play ground, and did other clean up. I went back there several times. I spoke with neighbors every time. Neighbors have told me that it does not stink quite as bad, though the odor is still noticeable. Health effects have abated somewhat too. Tahasha Harpole, a EJ Committee member, and I went out to the sight on July 24th. We walked it with Steve Lee of the MPCA spill team. He had a few tools to help figure out what was going on. I could still smell the strange odor when we went out there on the 24th, but it was faint. The drainage ditch was nearly all drained out. We dug up wood chips in the play ground to see if we could find water, but we couldn't. Lee had a meter which he said measured unstable organic vapors like petroleum, solvents, strippers, stuff like that. His meter didn't pick up anything. We also saw the sheen on the water and the mud. Lee didn't think it was actually a petrol sheen, though he acknowledged it was there. He also put down a petro absorbing cloth. Lee did not think that picked any petro-based substances, but he said he'd look closer. CM Natalie Johnson Lee faxed me a copy of the analysis of the water sample. This report states that they haven't found a problem. The analysis was done by the developer. So, to sum up, the odor, sickness, and strange looking substances, are still a mystery. Lee suggested that maybe the stench and headaches come from the rotting organic matter that was sitting in the stagnant drainage ditch. We're going to keep our eyes on this and keep talking to the neighbors. I'll be over there at national night out. Just wanted everybody to know what's happening with this situation. Shoot back any information you've learned. Keith Ellison [EMAIL PROTECTED] TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
