MOORHEAD, Minn. (KFGO) - An unusual discovery has led to environmental concerns where the new Clay County Jail and Law Enforcement Center are being built in Moorhead.
Excavation crews have found two huge cast iron tanks that once held heating fuel for the old St. Ansgar Hospital building, which was torn down decades ago.
Clay County Administrator Brian Berg says each of the buried tanks held 7,500 gallons. One of the tanks was still about a third full; the other was about a quarter full.
Berg says because the tanks may have been leaking, soil samples have been taken to determine if the site has been contaminated. The tanks are believed to date back to 1910.
Heavy equipment was used to remove the tanks. They were hauled away on a flatbed semi.
Berg says results of the soil tests could be known later this week.