ST. CLOUD — Future redevelopment of the former Verso Paper mill site in Sartell is one step closer to fruition following a purchase agreement that will transfer ownership to the city.

Sartell City Council in August approved purchasing 51 acres along the Mississippi River that were once home to the paper mill, as well as 167 acres on Fourth Avenue S. used as a landfill for paper mill operations, for $950,000.

The mill, which had operated along the shores of the river for more than 100 years, closed shortly after a fire and explosion on Memorial Day in 2012 killed one employee and injured four others. In January 2013, Verso Paper announced it was selling the property to AIM Development, a subsidiary of Montreal-based American Iron & Metal.

The 2013 purchase included the industrial landfill site on Fourth Avenue S., which had stored solid waste from paper mill operations since opening in 1984.

In 2014, AIM applied to renew a permit with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The application asked to increase the area of land used for disposal and include nonhazardous waste from generators other than the paper mill.

The city opposed the application and entered into litigation with AIM in 2016. A district court ruled the landfill is limited to waste generated by the paper mill and disposal of waste from other generators would be an unpermitted expansion of the use allowed in zoning and permitting.

Jenny Berg, Star Tribune, Star Tribune
A sign along Fourth Avenue in Sartell shows the entrance to a landfill. The city plans to market the 167-acre site for redevelopment.

The state's appeals court affirmed the district court ruling, but the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2020 reversed the lower court's ruling and ruled that the owner of a facility for nonhazardous industrial waste can accept waste from additional sources.

With the new purchase agreement, the city plans to exhume or close the landfill and sell the property for future redevelopment to recoup the purchase costs.

"As a community, this is a great move forward and it keeps a demolition landfill out of the heart of our town," Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum said.

Last fall, Sartell City Council approved a purchase agreement with AIM Development to buy the former landfill site for $800,000. The amended purchase agreement approved in August also includes the 51 acres along the river.

A section on the easternmost part of the former mill site will remain under AIM ownership due to a lease agreement the company has with a local church, according to City Administrator Anna Gruber.

Both sites are undergoing environmental reviews to determine if cleanup or other mitigation measures are required. The city is slated to close on the properties in mid-October.