Client
Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit
Location
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
Peer was retained by the Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit (Met Council) in 2007 to perform a limited Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I ESA) of the Locally Preferred Alignment (LPA) of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit (LRT) system from the Downtown East/Metrodome Station in Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Union Depot in Saint Paul, Minnesota (Project Corridor). The purpose of the Phase I was to identify, to the extent possible, any sources of contamination (based on present or former land use) on properties that could impact construction of the Central Corridor LRT.
The Phase I search area included property within 500 feet of the Project Corridor east of the Downtown East/Metrodome Station to the Union Depot in St. Paul and property within 1,000 feet of the west portal of the Washington Avenue Bridge and the intersection of 25th Avenue SE and the University of Minnesota Transitway.
As part of the Phase I work, Peer reviewed an existing Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), obtained and evaluated geological, historical, and regulatory information, and completed a reconnaissance of the project corridor. Based on this information, sites with documented or potential soil and/or ground water contamination issues were identified and each were ranked by Peer as having a high, medium or low potential for impact to the project corridor using pre-established criteria.
Two hundred twenty-nine high potential sites were identified along the Project Corridor. These sites were further prioritized to identify those most likely to impact project construction or those located in areas where there was a high likelihood for the need to acquire additional right-of-way. As a result of this further prioritization, 87 individual sites were identified for review of the relevant files at the MPCA to further evaluate their potential for impact.
The Phase I results, including the MPCA file reviews, were summarized in a comprehensive report prepared by Peer. The final report included a sortable Master Database of Sites that included designated site numbers, names, addresses, and pertinent information such as information sources, regulatory databases, rankings, and latitude/longitude coordinates, etc. The Master Database of Sites was also provided separately as a GIS shape file so that the sites could be mapped graphically on Met Council base maps in the future, as needed.
Services Provided
- Phase I ESA
- Corridor Study