Madison, Wisc. — State environmental quality officials are so proud of the cleanup of fertilizer impacted soils at the old 27-acre Royster-Clark fertilizer plant property here they’ve produced a short film and made it available online. Considered the largest such project ever undertaken by the state, the 27-acre site – acquired and operated briefly in 2006 by Agrium Inc. – posed a few unique problems. Focusing at first on cleaning up the outdoor soils, the effort shifted to contamination under concrete buildings and exterior concrete slabs slated to be removed to make way for redevelopment. More than 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated and will be land-spread on farm fields in eastern Dane County to reduce fertilizer requirements this spring. "Without this cleanup, nitrogen from that fertilizer would eventually have leached into groundwater at the site, and would likely have discharged into nearby Lake Monona and the Yahara River basin," reported Stan Senger, section leader. “Removal of these contaminants nearest the source helps to protect our groundwater as well as nearby lakes and streams.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain