5.2. SR 08-08-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Final plat approvals City Building permits City Rezoning 9. LAND USE. Describe current and recent past land use and development on the site and on adjacent lands. Discuss project compatibility with adjacent and nearby land uses. Indicate whether any potential conflicts involve environmental matters. Identify any potential environmental hazards due to past site uses, such as soil contamination or abandoned storage tanks, or proximity to nearby hazardous liquid or gas pipelines. Existing and Surrounding Land Use The study area is bound by the Mississippi River to the west with TH 10/169 bisecting the study area running parallel to the river. The study area is located in southern Elk River. Based on the historical aerial photos (available upon request), the site has historically been agricultural. Since the late 1980's/early 1990's, a mixture of office and light industrial land uses have developed along the northern and eastern edges of the study area. In the early 2000's, high and low density housing and parkland to the northeast have developed. The land to the east and south of the project area is owned by Cargill Corporation and Great River Energy (GRE) (see Figure 5-3). Cargill uses their land and facility for agricultural research and production. The GRE site contains the Elk River Resource Derived Fuel (RDF) Processing plant, where municipal solid waste is processed to make refuse-derived fuel for powering Great River Energy's Elk River Energy Recovery Station. Combustible materials recovered at this plant are sorted and cut and trucked to the Elk River Energy Recovery Station in another part of the City to produce energy. Metal materials are saved for recycling. Rebecca - is leachate from the GRE site a potential pollutant risk? The Burlington Northern Sante-Fe rail line borders the study area to the east from the northwest to the southeast and carries a large number of heavy rail trains each day in addition to the Northstar commuter train. The Northstar commuter train station is located to the north of the study area, and is located approximately two miles from Downtown Elk River to the northwest. A natural gas pipeline crosses through the center of study area from north to south as shown on Figure 9-1. Information from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and a state and federal database search was obtained to determine if potential environmental hazards due to past land uses or spills would affect the study area. This information indicated there are no known environmental issues such as leaking underground storage tanks or spills within the study area. There are a number of underground storage tanks and generators of hazardous waste (small quantity) outside the study area City of Elk River Draft Alternative Urban Areawide Review July 2011 Page 24 of 84