Millions will be spent to clean soil
Ify r,ric Planner
Senior Editor
The U.S. Army Corps of Engi
neers will spend more than $2.5 mil
lion over the next two years as part of
a program to clean up contaminants
that have leaked into soil and water
southeast of the NU Agricultural
Research and Development Station,
corps officials said Thursday.
The NU facility is located near
Mead on land formerly used for the
Nebraska Ordnance Plant, a World
War II munitions factory operated by
the U.S. Department of Defense.
John Moyian, the corps’ chief of
the foundation and materials branch
for the Kansas City District Office,
said partial cleanup of the contami
nants will begin this fall. At the same
time, the corps will do a comprehen
sive remedial investigation of the site
and the contaminants, he said.
I he corps presented a confirma
tion study last week to members of
the UNL administration as well as
federal, state and local government
officials staling that further investi
gation and cleanup efforts are neces
sary.
George Hanley, chief of public
affairs for the corps in Kansas City,
said three contaminants have leaked
into the water supply southeast of the
facility.
Royal Demolition Explosive, or
RDX, Trichloroethylene, or TCE,
and Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or
PCBs, have been found in 10 wells
located on and near the university’s
site, Hanley said.
The owners of three of the wells
are using bottled water, he said, be
cause the contamination levels are
considered dangerous by the Envi
ronmental Protection Agency.
Tom Krepcl, assistant to the chan
cellor and director of university rela
tions, said the university purchased
9,000 acres of the 17,000-acre World
War II ordnance plant in the early
1960s for its agricultural station.
The site has several uses, he said,
including animal science and forestry
research.
But “contamination tends to limit
what you can do with the site,” Kre
pel said.
In the early 1980s, the university
discovered the leakage of contamina
tion and publicized it, he said.
Testing done in December 1988
indicated that the contaminants had
entered a well on the agricultural
station Krcpel said. In March, con
taminants were found in the other
wells, he said.
After contaminants were identi
fied, Krepel said, the corps began its
investigation.
“The corps has a well-defined
process’’ for dealing with contamina
tion, he said.
First, he said, came an inventory
report, which confirmed that the site
used to be a Department of Defense
facility.
Next came the confirmation
study, completed last week. This
study indicated that the third step, the
remedial investigation, is necessary.
The corps will then do a feasibility
study, in which corrective measures
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