Douglas County commissioners are asking state officials to keep close tabs on Farmland Industries as the bankrupt cooperative plans to sell its shuttered fertilizer plant at the edge of Lawrence.

Commissioners don’t want Farmland sticking county taxpayers with the bill for cleaning up years of environmental pollution at the 467-acre property, something commissioners fear could happen if the cooperative sells off relatively uncontaminated areas around the plant for private development of homes, businesses or anything else.

“It’s consistent with our ongoing concerns about protecting taxpayers from liabilities associated with the site,” said Commissioner Charles Jones, a former Kansas Department of Health and Environment official.

Commissioners agreed Monday to send a letter to Rod Bremby, KDHE secretary, calling for the department to “ensure that adequate resources will be available to complete remediation and that remediation costs will not become a taxpayer burden.”

Such assurances, commissioners said, should come after the department determines how much it would cost to clean up the chemical mess.

Removing nitrates, chromium and lead from the property is expected to require “some decades before the problem is resolved,” commissioners said in their letter.

Farmland officials have maintained that the Kansas City, Mo.-based cooperative had no intention of turning over an environmental mess to the public. Farmland already has posted a $482,750 bond to cover the expected costs of the future cleanup.

Also Monday, commissioners met in executive session with Evan Ice, county counselor, to discuss legal issues related to the Farmland situation.

Commissioners previously have indicated a willingness to consider buying the plant site, then setting aside the property for uses including expansion of the nearby East Hills Business Park or adding to the adjacent Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Farmland Industries is trying to sell property from its shuttered site at the edge of Lawrence. County officials are asking the state to supervise sales to ensure cleanup costs for the property don't fall to taxpayers.

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