Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant
The TCAAP was a product of the government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) war materials production program established by the War Department during World War II. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul area emerged as a potential GOCO candidate primarily on the basis of labor supply. TCAAP was one of six GOCO plants built to produce small arms ammunition during World War II, and was operated by the Federal Cartridge Corporation under contract to the War Department. After a bid to make TCAAP the new home for the Minnesota Vikings failed, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the surplus acreage that remains on the original 2,700 acre TCAAP site. This 427-acre parcel will be redeveloped in conjunction with the City of Arden Hills. Under terms of the deal, the county will pay the federal government $4.9 million for the property and agree to spend $22.6 million to clean up remaining pollution. In April 2013, the County executed a competitively bid contract with Carl Bolander & Sons of St. Paul for the demolition of all structures on site, and the full remediation of the site to residential soil values As of October 2013, Bolander and Sons had removed all of the above grade buildings but one, and had begun soil remediation activities. The county will finance the deal with $21.4 million in bonding, a $6 million transfer from its solid waste fund and $2 million in contingency funds. These dollars will be replenished through the sale of land for redevelopment. Through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), the City of Arden Hills and Ramsey County have created a Joint Development Authority (JDA). This entity will be responsible for implementing the City and County approved Master Plan for the site, issuing Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and negotiating development agreements with private developers. The JDA meets monthly, on the first Monday of the month, at Arden Hills City Hall at 5:30 p.m. In 1987 the TCAAP was positively identified as the source of Volatile organic compound (VOCs) contamination in New Brighton's water supply, first identified in July 1981. The contamination consisted of Trichloroethylene (TCE) at levels ranging from a few parts per billion to over two hundred parts per billion.
Source of drinking water contamination
These contaminants entered Rice Creek and from there the ground water in New Brighton.