from this morning pioneer press:
Cleanup to begin on asbestos-fouled beach
Asbestos cleanup at the Lakeland beach, delayed for the past month due
to high water on the St. Croix River, will begin on Monday.
The cleanup is expected to take two to three weeks, said Katie Koelfgen,
senior pollution control specialist for the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency. Once the project is complete, PCA officials will attempt to
recover the estimated $150,000 in cleanup costs from Colin and Cynthia
Thorpe, the couple named by the PCA as the responsible party in the
asbestos contamination.
The Thorpes, who live just south of beach, say they did not cause the
contamination. When they refused to hire a firm to clean the beach last
month, the PCA hired Bay West Inc. of St. Paul.
It is unclear if the city beach — which was closed last year due to
flooding on the St. Croix — will open again this year.
“It’s really up in the air as to how long it’s going to take to clean up the
beach,” said Lakeland City Council Member Jeri Ryan, the city’s parks
commissioner. “It may not be feasible to open it this year, at least for
swimming. It may be open for walking, but even that, we’re not sure.”