Read the full article by E.A. Crunden (Waste Dive)
“Dive Brief:
- The discharge of leachate containing toxic chemicals into Lake Superior is under fire from a group of Minnesota county commissioners. Four out of seven St. Louis County commissioners signed on to a May 12 letter sent to the U.S. EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requesting ‘immediate action.’
- The letter states the city of Duluth — through the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) — is discharging 5 million gallons of MSW leachate into Lake Superior. Surface water discharge shows per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), along with mercury, arsenic, lead, cyanide, and others. WLSSD has said it uses physical, chemical, and biological treatments to remove around 95% of contaminants, diluting the leachate prior to disposal.
- WLSSD did not respond to a request for comment, but Executive Director Marianne Bohren told the Duluth News Tribune she felt blindsided by the letter, while confirming the 5 million gallon figure and acknowledging the entity does not test for PFAS. Commissioner Keith Nelson, one of the letter’s signatories and chair of the county’s solid waste commission, told Waste Dive he and other officials have been in communication with WLSSD for years about such issues, with little movement…”