Kansas Department of Health and Environment leaders are close to having a formal plan to clean up the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant east of Lawrence.
But still unknown is exactly who all the players will be.
KDHE on Wednesday closed a 30-day public comment period on the draft cleanup plan for the nearly 500-acre property. KDHE officials expect that a final cleanup plan can be filed in 60 to 90 days, which they hope will spur more interest in parties wanting to redevelop the site into a commercial or industrial project.
“Anybody interested in purchasing the property will now know what our expectations are for cleaning up the property,” said Rick Bean, the KDHE section chief that is overseeing the cleanup plan.
But the plan also spells out what has long been thought — there are more clean-up costs than there is money set aside in a bankruptcy trust fund designed to pay for cleanup expenses.
The new report — called a Corrective Action Decision — estimates that total clean-up of the property will cost $13 million over a 30-year period.
The cleanup trust fund has about $4 million in it. An administrative trust fund has about $6 million in it, but it is unclear how much of that money can be used for cleanup purposes.
City Manager David Corliss confirmed the city is in discussions with the bankruptcy trust and KDHE to win a ruling that would allow the administrative trust fund money to be used for cleanup activities. The city has long expressed an interest in purchasing the property to use as a future business park, but Corliss said the city wants access to all the trust fund money it can get to pay for the cleanup.
The issue over the administrative trust fund money has become more complicated after an Overland Park based investment group, Capitana Redevelopment Group, purchased a legal interest in the administrative trust fund. The leader of that group previously has said he does not believe the entire administrative trust fund can be used for cleanup work.
The new KDHE plan doesn’t clear the issue up. Instead, the plan simply acknowledges that some of the clean-up work likely won’t be able to happen until a third-party steps up to purchase the property.
The plan, though, does prioritize what clean-up work needs to be done first. KDHE leaders said they are confident that there is enough money set aside for the project to ensure that contamination on the site does not spread.
“The priority is to ensure that the public is protected,” said Gary Blackburn, KDHE’s director of environmental remediation. “This plan will allow us to do that.”
As expected, the plan identified the major pollutants at the site to be high levels of nitrogen and ammonia that have contaminated the soil and groundwater.
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50YearResident (anonymous) says…
From the story: The issue over the administrative trust fund money has become more complicated after an Overland Park based investment group, Capitana Redevelopment Group, purchased a legal interest in the administrative trust fund.
Make these guys (Capitana Group) pay for all the clean-up costs before the city buys anything.
pace (anonymous) says…
what could be jobs and industry was turned into a seeping sore by Farmland. Farmland had very special friends and pals at Public Works in the City Very nasty responses from them when complaints were made. One division head had little to do but a lot to say. We need to clean up the site and return it to commercial use. We need to do that before we spend tax dollars gumming up prime farmland somewhere else for a NEW industrial site. the farmland site needs to be cleaned up. It has utilities and access, we have to clean it up for the health and safety , spending money to achieve a new site just doubles our tax burden. The Farmland site has to be No. 1. Delay and obscuration about other sites hurts us, costs us, doesn't save us a dime but I admit might make some other people rich, Pine rich.
merrill (anonymous) says…
Rumor has it that Lawrence,Kansas is buying the property and that an announcement is on the horizon.
This is a prime example of why taxpayers should rise up and demand no more polluters ever. Bankruptcy is a favorite tool of polluters for at least 40 years that I know of.
Lawrence,Kansas cannot afford any new polluters period.
One is on the table as we speak. That sand company seeking approval to locate in Lawrence has some bad history with the EPA. Clean ups cost wayyyyyyyy more than fines paid by polluters.
monkeyhawk (anonymous) says…
“We’re absolutely interested in the property,” said Aaron Bowers, who is leading the investment group. “Capitana’s goal is to return this property to productive use.”
“The community has clearly spoken that it wants to use this property as a business park,” Corliss said. “It would be a natural compliment to the East Hills Business Park, and we know we’re going to need more industrial space to grow our job base in the future.”
Time is also becoming an issue for the city.
Corliss said he would like to get a deal done before the April 7 City Commission elections. The elections could produce a new majority on the City Commission.
It is possible that a new majority on the commission may not be willing to spend the amount of money needed to convert the property into a business park."
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/feb...
"Rumor has it that Lawrence,Kansas is buying the property and that an announcement is on the horizon."
If merrill's rumor is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, I guess Corliss got the cc he wanted.
I wonder who will pay for all the overages once they start poking around in this pig?
lounger (anonymous) says…
This will be polluted for years no matter what they say. Cleanup will be cosmetic and they will put little houses all around and plant pretty grass to hide the fact. This happens repeatedly around our fair country and the "Officials" tell us all is well when in fact family's are putting their children to bed on top of horrible out gassing polluted ground. Greed is a sorry thing....