Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Flood Incident Response Mission Statement and Long Term Flood Recovery Work Plan
for the Red River of the North Basin

May 15, 1997
Prepared by Jack Frederick, MPCA, Northwest Regional Office in cooperation with the staff of both the Northwest Regional Office and St. Paul Office of the MPCA

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of this work plan is to facilitate flood recovery within the Red River of the North basin within the scope of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) mission.  The purpose of the work plan is to institute a transition within the agency from the MPCA's flood related emergency response activities to long term recovery (LTR) activities.  The first phase in this transition has been targeted for completion by August 31, 1997.

INTRODUCTION

Flooding in the spring of 1997 reached unprecedented proportions exceeding 100 year flood event predictions throughout the Red River Valley.  In response to this basin wide incident, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Northwest Regional Office devised a plan in order to effectively and efficiently respond to environmental emergencies throughout the basin as they arose due to the record flooding.

In early April Peder Larson, commissioner of the MPCA, authorized that the Northwest Regional Office prepare and initiate an agency response action regarding this basin wide flooding crisis.  Jeff Lewis (NW Regional Office Manager), Jim Ziegler (NW Regional Office Supervisor) and Walt Haas (NW Regional Office Emergency Response Coordinator) devised an emergency response structure for the region which divided the basin into zones and maximized utilization of both regional and central office MPCA staff and resources.  A map and chart is attached which identifies the response zone alignments and the agency's flood response command structure.  

As Incident Commander, Walt Haas, was given primary authority for insuring that staff was available to address all environmental issues that might arise during the course of this unprecedented flooding event within the basin.  The primary focus by agency staff originally was: 1) the containment and removal of fuel oil products from homes and businesses; 2) the proper disposal of debris generated from the flooding; 3) the separation of household, commercial, and agricultural hazardous wastes from other solid waste streams and their appropriate treatment and/or disposal; 4) and the tracking, assessment of impacts, and provision for providing technical assistance to municipal and industrial wastewater facilities within the basin that were affected by the flooding.

Ada Residents Deal with Aftermath

Dave Wallis/The Forum
Water-damaged belongings are piled up outside of an Ada home as the owner gets an early start on repairs.  Many town residents are returning home to find out that their problems are far from over.

By Karyn Spencer

Ada, MN - The stench of fuel oil thickens the air and coats the throat at Verona Heiraas' house in Ada.  Last weekend's flash flood ruptured a tank and filled her house with 200 gallons of fuel oil.  "The basement's plumb full," said daughter Angie Babler, who was tending Heiraas' house Friday afternoon.  "You come out of here, and you stink."

That was just one of the unpleasant surprises waiting for Ada residents returning home to begin cleaning up.  Most found basements filled with water, some up to the rafters.  Front doors were flung open throughout town to let hoses crawl down the steps and releases gallons and gallons of water.   The hoses were kept company by red plastic gas cans to fuel pumps since the city still had no electricity Friday afternoon. 

At Lowell Thompson's house, an ancient wood ironing board and a stack of ice chunks propped up a hose gushing water for four hours.   Not that Thompson even knew what was going on at his house.  Others stepped forward to help because his hands were full with his job at the city's public works department.  "He hasn't even been over to his own house, and we said we were coming next door anyway," resident Mark Anderson said.

Their friend may regret coming home once he sees his basement.  The water buoyed and tossed two huge freezer chests on their sides, spilling food across the floor.  Bookshelves were heaved, and boxes and clothes were scattered in the rush of water.  Other homeowners already had pitched soaked belongings into their icy yards.  One already had stripped the basement down to sheetrock and 2-by-4's.

But the flood devastated businesses as well.   More than 160 cars were ruined by the frozen flooding at Lee Bros. and Berby Ford, two of the city's three car dealerships.  "They're totaled.  There's water in every car," said Milt Lee, who owns Lee Bros. Sales.  Lee cautioned residents with flooded cars to not start or move the vehicles.  He recommended they call their dealerships, mechanics or insurance agents first.

The third dealership, Kelly's Chrysler Center, had 100 undamaged cars, which will be shared between the three businesses as loaners and rentals, Lee said.  Lee Bros. service department was cleaned up and ready for repairs as soon as electricity returned, he said.

At the corner of highways 9 and 200, Ada Feed and Seed lost more than $400,000 worth of fertilizer and sunflowers stored in 10 Quonsets, owner Rick Wagner said.  He got electricity at home Thursday night - only because he lives above the Ada Police Department.  "I had my first shower in five days last night.  Oh, felt good," he said.

Hazardous Material

Within Manitoba, more than 550 containers that held or may have held hazardous materials before being swept into the floodwaters were retrieved from the Red River.  These included propane cylinders and home heating fuel tanks.  A total of 40 containers with some contents were also collected between Wahpeton, North Dakota, and the international border.  The contents of these containers were wide-ranging: petroleum products, fire-fighting foam, tar, alcohol, solvents, corrosive liquids, polyester resin, flammable liquid, paint, pesticides, compressed gases such as propane, and home heating fuel.

Home heating fuel tanks were a source of hazardous materials in Grand Forks, where approximately 1,000 of the flooded homes used heating oil.  During the flood, many of these tanks broke free from their connections and spilled fuel oil.  After the flood, heating-oil-contaminated water was removed by vacuum trucks from 726 flooded homes and businesses in Grand Forks and separated.   The water was discharged into the Grand Forks sanitary sewer system while the oil was recycled.

Estimates of the number of residential fuel oil tanks that spilled in Manitoba are not available.  However, 56 home heating tanks were retrieved from the Red River within Manitoba.  Other petroleum products were also lost.  For example, approximately 15,000 gallons (68,100 liters) of gasoline spilled from service stations in Breckenridge, Minnesota.  Several petroleum components were detected in water samples collected in the U. S. portions of the basin.

Cleanup after the flood revealed a plethora of household hazardous wastes, such as paint, pesticides, oil, solvents, aerosols, water putty, detergents, tar and batteries, in flooded basements.  In the United States alone, excluding Grand Forks, 86 barrels of household waste were removed from flooded areas.

Lincoln Huseby, independent insurance agent, Fargo