Background
Former Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant (NIROP) Fridley is located in the northern portion of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, within Fridley's city limits, in Anoka County, Minnesota. Former NIROP Fridley covers approximately 82.6 acres and is approximately 30 feet above and 700 feet east of the Mississippi River.
Former NIROP Fridley facility dates back to 1940 when Northern Pump Company, under contract to the Navy, built a new manufacturing facility and began producing 5-inch gun mounts for Naval vessels during World War II. FMC Corporation purchased the southern portion of the property in 1964.
At Former NIROP Fridley, chlorinated solvents, also known as chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), were used as degreasers for metal parts. Trichloroethene (TCE), a type of chlorinated solvent, was mainly used during manufacturing. Historically, typical industrial handling, storage, and disposal practices for chemicals such as TCE were not protective of the environment as they are now. Historically, CVOCs were leaked, spilled, or disposed of on site, and CVOCs, mainly TCE, have been found in groundwater and soil at Former NIROP Fridley at levels requiring cleanup.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have been working together to clean up Former NIROP Fridley since the early 1980s. Over 2,000 cubic yards of soil and 97 drums of waste have been removed and safely disposed of off site. With USEPA and MPCA approval, the Navy built a groundwater extraction and treatment system that protects both human health and the environment by containing CVOCs on site. To date, more than 7 billion gallons of groundwater have been treated to remove more than 45,000 pounds of CVOCs. In 2021, the Navy rebuilt the aging treatment system and replaced four of the nine extraction wells to optimize continued groundwater cleanup.
The Navy sold the property in 2004. Although the Navy no longer owns the property, the Navy has responsibility for environmental cleanup activities associated with Navy operations at former NIROP Fridley. The property was redeveloped from 2014 to 2020, and the area is now known as the Northern Stacks Industrial Park.
(Dated June 2024)