Dear Neighbors,
This week many reports of a pink/purple smoke were shown on social media, sent to Cottage Grove Public Safety and to my office. This came from the incinerator at 3M during their process of dealing with hazardous waste.
The incident occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 21st. Cottage Grove Public Safety contacted 3M the following day and were told they had known about the release and would get more information together. I also contacted a 3M official Tuesday evening to determine if any information had been made available yet. On Wednesday morning I was told the issue was not an abnormal issue and the release was not a safety concern for anyone in the community. No further details were available but they were going to try and determine what exactly caused the issue. Yesterday, 3M issued the following statement:
We are investigating the event to determine the exact cause of the color of the steam plume from the stack, but most likely resulted from an isolated event of processing one or two specific containers. While obviously not normal, we do not believe that any operating or permit limits were exceeded, nor was there a release of harmful emissions during the event. We make every effort to manage waste in a way that ensures operation within our permit limits and avoidance of visible emissions. When the investigation is complete we will take appropriate actions to minimize the risk of it happening again.
Like many of you, I remember the extreme concern over the incinerator at 3M. The city of Cottage Grove along with state agencies tested air quality to determine the claims of safety from 3M. The testing didn’t note any abnormalities.
I do not like seeing the plume of pink/purple smoke or steam in our community. It is hard to believe it was safe, but it was noted to me it was within acceptable levels allowed to them with regard to emissions. I know many still have a concern with what the acceptable levels of emissions are and we will be discussing this issue with the MPCA and others.
What is the most disappointing around the incident was the lack of a call to our local public safety officials who potentially would get a call from a community member believing there was an emergency. Once Cottage Grove Public Safety Director Craig Woolery was aware of the issue, he kept my office and other local officials up to date with information as he got it. I am very grateful he has stayed on top of the issue.
I’ll continue to work with 3M on this incident and making sure we are notified in the future. In any instance like this we need transparency. The quality of our air and water is a major priority for all of us; pink or purple smoke doesn’t build trust.
Community News
Newport Lutheran Church (900 15th St) is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, March 26 at 9:00 a.m. Over 2,500 eggs filled with candy and toys will be up for grabs! The event is free to attend and open to kids 12 and under. For more info call Newport Lutheran at651-459-1447.
The 12U Black and 14U White Cottage Grove traveling softball teams are hosting a spaghetti dinner and silent auction fundraiserSaturday, March 26 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at DeMori’s Restaurant (950 Helena Ave N, Oakdale). It costs $10 and the proceeds will help pay for travel costs, equipment, uniforms and fees.
The Washington County Historical Society will hold its annual meeting next Thursday, March 31 at the Water Street Inn (101 Water St S) in Stillwater. Social hour is at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at6:30 p.m. and the meeting at 7:30 p.m. The featured speaker will be wrestling legend “Jumpin” Jim Brunzell, who famously teamed with Greg Gange to form “the High Flyers” tag team in the AWA, and in the WWE was part of “the Killer Bees” with B. Brian Blair. Brunzell will discuss his new autobiography Matlands: True Stories from the Wrestling Road. Reservations are required; tickets are $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. Visit www.wchsmn.org for more information or to register.
I hope you will all have a fantastic weekend and if you celebrate: Happy Easter.
Sincerely,
Dan Schoen
State Representative