Getting a personal look Thursday, May 28, at the former Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven remarked on the benefits around taking a property that has been unusable for 30 years and turning it into something great for the community.

“The good news is this summer we are going to get approval from EPA to use this site,” said Hoeven, who recently secured a commitment from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to expedite the approval process.

The former landfill site extends from just east of the fire training facility on U.S. Highway 2 & 52 to the north toward Maysa Arena. Using the old landfill site and other land around Maysa, the district wants to develop 26 acres for recreation. Plans are on hold as city and EPA negotiations have been going on for about 10 years over the necessary modification to a consent document made with the city in 1996 that prevents development. EPA now has agreed to the change, and a public comment period is open until June 1. After that time, the EPA has 30 days to respond to comments and then can petition the court to finalize the modification, Hoeven explained. He said the EPA has committed to completing the process and freeing up land for reuse by Sept. 30.

Hoeven and representatives of the EPA’s Region 8 office visited Minot Thursday to discuss the property’s status and tour the site. Hoeven also visited with Ward County officials on the progress of a southwest corridor project around Minot.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Jamie Miller, EPA Region 8 Remedial Branch manager, Superfund Division, speaks at the site of Minot’s former Superfund site during a tour Thursday, May 28. At right is Minot Parks Executive Director Elly DesLauriers, Public Works Utilities Director Jason Sorenson and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven.

Minot Public Works Utilities Director Jason Sorenson said the former landfill, which operated for about 10 years before closing in 1971, drew complaints from neighbors in the 1980s and 1990s about smell and gases bubbling through ponds. As an EPA Superfund site in the late 1990s, a cleanup project was developed that now manages the leachate and stormwater.

The park district plans to install an 18-hold disc golf course and cross country and mountain biking trails. Local schools and Minot State University would be able to use cross country designated trails instead of relying on Souris Valley Golf Course to host their meets. The property also would provide space for expansion of Maysa Arena, which includes adding a fourth ice rink and a field house at a future time.

Conditions on the property include restrictions regarding ground penetration, which will impact how the disc golf course is set up.

Parks Executive Director Elly DesLauriers said the project will make use of the land and also take care of it in an appropriate way.

“Quality of life is what we do, but so is conservation,” she said.

Hoeven also joined county and city officials on a bus tour of the proposed southwest corridor project, which would create a bypass to connect traffic from the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass and Burdick Expressway West with Minot’s south side, including improving access to Trinity Hospital.

Ward County and the City of Minot worked together to obtain a $4 million federal planning grant. Next Tuesday, Ward County will be selecting an engineering firm to start the preliminary engineering process, County Engineer Dana Larsen said.

Upon completing a corridor planning study, the county applied for two grants to address immediate needs. One grant will be used to construct a roundabout at the junction of County Roads 14 and 17, west of Minot. The other will be used to make safety improvements on County Road 17.

Larsen listed the estimated cost of the southwest corridor segments at around $100 million.

“This is going to take the county, the city and the state all working together, and when we develop the engineering steering team for this, the state, city and county are all going to be at the table,” Larsen said. “The state is going to be at that. This is a huge improvement to their system so getting them at the table and everybody committed to these projects is going to be essential to see it through to the end.”