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The University of Minnesota has announced long-term plans to develop the property it owns in Rosemount and Empire Township at the site of a smokeless gunpowder plant built during World War II. The University named the site "UMore Park." Plans envision a "community of the future" that would incorporate advances in urban planning and energy conservation and that could be home to 20-30,000 people in the next 30 years. The University has set up a website for information relating to the property and proposed community. 

Part of the University's plans for the UMore Park property is to mine approximately 1,600 acres of land located in both Rosemount and Empire Township. The mining will occur on the western portion of the property, mostly adjoining Biscayne Avenue.

Both the mining and the development of the site will be subject to review by the City of Rosemount. Click here for the final EIS report for sand and gravel mining at UMore. Comments or questions should be directed to Kim Lindquist, Community Development director, at 651-322-2020; or Eric Zweber, Senior Planner, at 651-322-2052.  

UPDATE, December 18, 2012: The Rosemount City Council approved a permit for gravel mining at the site during its meeting on December 18.  [View the memo to the Council on the proposal.]

A Remedial Investigation was conducted to collect information needed to identify and assess potential risks to human health and the environment associated with historical uses of the property. The UMore Park East site includes the industrial section of the former Gopher Ordinance Works (GOW), a smokeless gunpowder production facility owned, constructed and operated by the federal government during World War II. Since its acquisition by the University in 1947 and 1948, the site has been used for University agricultural and other research projects and tenant agricultural and commercial activities.

The Remedial Investigation report and other environmental reports regarding the site are available for public review between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Information Repository established by the University, which is located at the UMore Park Administration Building, 1605 160th Street W, Rosemount, MN 55068, and on the UMore Park website.

Parties desiring additional information should contact:
Mr. Gary Krueger
Remediation Division
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Avenue
North St. Paul, MN 555155-4194
Ph. 651-757-2509

Mr. Steven Lott
UMore Development LLC
University of Minnesota
1605 – 160th Street West
Rosemount, MN 55068
Ph. 651-423-2562

Mining
The University went through a formal environmental review process called an Environmental Impact Statement or EIS. The City as well as other agencies and residents made comments about the draft EIS during the compilation and review process. There were modifications made to the draft document which are reflected in the final EIS responding to the City’s comments as well as others. In November 2010, the Board of Regents took action on the EIS, finding that the EIS as written was adequate and also authorizing execution of a 40-year lease with Dakota Aggregates, LLC for phased gavel mining in UMore Park. Dakota Aggregates, LLC is a partnership between Cemstone Products Company and Ames Construction, Inc.

The City has been meeting with the University of Minnesota regarding potential impacts and questions about the mining operation on the western portion of UMore Park. City staff has been working on amending the existing mining ordinance to address issues that could arise with such a large mining operation. The City does not currently have any mining operations of the size or time period proposed for the UMore property. The new ordinance will be crafted by Planning staff and the Rosemount Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and the City Council will need to approve the ordinance amendment.

After approval of a mining ordinance, Dakota Aggregates, LLC, with which the University is partnering, will have to apply formally for a mining permit from the City based on the conditions and standards of the new ordinance. The mining permit will also require a public hearing at the Planning Commission and review and approval by the City Council before the start of any mining on the site.

The development portion of the project will also be subject to environmental review. An Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) was initiated in late 2011 to review the potential impacts of development on the property and the surrounding area. To complete the analysis, the City and University will be working on different development scenarios for the property. These ideas will be brought before the City Council and Planning Commission for approval prior to starting the AUAR process. Public meetings associated with the AUAR will be posted on this website.

The City will post related documents and notices on this webpage. Users can sign up for emails to notify them when the content of the webpage is updated.

Items 

City staff's memo to the Planning Commission on mining at UMore (Aug.24, 2012)
City staff's memo to the City Council on UMore Park developments (Aug. 11, 2010)
University news release on environmental assessment (Aug. 17, 2010)
University news release on mining environmental impact statement (Oct. 1, 2010)

Document Library 
U of M website on wind energy turbine project at UMore 
University letter to Bloomfield residents about August 26 meeting 
University letter to Enclave residents about August 25 meeting 
City staff memo to update City Council on UMore Park development - August 11, 2010 
Letter from the City commenting on Draft Environmental Impact statement for sand and gravel resources - August 4, 2010
UMore AUAR Scenarios_- March 14, 2012 (7.8mb_PDF).pdf