The Kummer Sanitary Landfill site is located in Beltrami County, Northern Township, Minnesota, immediately north of the corporate limit of Bemidji, Minnesota and approximately one mile west of Lake Bemidji. The landfill covers 35 acres of a 42-acre parcel of land. From 1971 until 1984, the site was a privately owned and operated solid waste landfill that accepted mixed municipal wastes. Beginning in 1974, demolition debris, consisting of fly ash and sawdust, was disposed of on-site. In 1982 and 1983, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) sampled groundwater from on-site monitoring wells and found the groundwater to be contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Residential wells east of the landfill were found to be contaminated the following year, and subsequently, in 1985, the landfill was closed. Currently the closed landfill is owned and operated by the State of Minnesota.

Groundwater underlying the site contained VOCs, including vinyl chloride, xylenes, carbon tetrachloride, and naphthalene from the landfill wastes. There was the potential for people to be at risk if they came into direct contact with landfill wastes or ingested contaminated groundwater. There was also the potential for contaminants from the landfill to reach Lake Bemidji or a nearby wetlands area.