The Environmental Protection Agency has issued an order to clean up contaminated soil at a site on the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation in Cass Lake.

The soil is located at the St. Regis Superfund site. The EPA has ordered the cleanup to be done by two potentially responsible parties, International Paper and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. They will excavate soil contaminated with dioxin and replace it with clean soil and vegetation.

The estimated cost of this cleanup is $21.4 million. The project, including remedial design and action, is expected to take an estimated five years.

By — Betsy Melin