City of Saint Paul Aalax Solid Waste Facility Project
June 1, 2023 – Environmental Assessment City of Saint Paul Aalax Solid Waste Facility Project and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for public review and comment for 30 calendar days before making the decision on whether, and if so how, to proceed with a proposed action. The City of Saint Paul is proposing to develop a new landfill at the Aalax site near Polovina Hill. The new landfill will enable the City to safely and properly dispose of waste generated by the community and active commercial fisheries. The EA evaluated the issuance of a grant award to the City of Saint Paul to construct the Solid Waste Facility. The existing landfill is nearing full capacity and is scheduled to be closed in the spring of 2028. The project would include new landfill cells, fencing, signage, equipment building, access road and purchase of equipment for solid waste management, including new burn boxes, heavy equipment, and drop boxes. Congress appropriated $3 million earmarked for the City of Saint Paul for the Aalax Solid Waste Facility under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117 – 328).
EPA considered two alternatives for the Proposed Project: the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative, which are analyzed in this EA pursuant to Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and EPA’s NEPA procedures under 40 CFR part 6. The EA did not identify significant effects to resources as a result of implementing either the Proposed Action or the No Action Alternative. However, EPA will consider public and agency comments prior to making its decision regarding implementation of the proposed project. After evaluating any comments received, EPA will make a final decision. The preliminary decision and finding will become final after the 30-day comment period expires if no new significant information is provided to alter this finding.
The EA and preliminary FONSI is available for download from EPA’s NEPA Compliance Database at https://cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/nepa/details?nepaId=416706.
Questions and public comments may be sent to Domenic Calabro, calabro.domenic@epa.gov, (206) 553-6640, on or prior to July 3, 2023.
