(The following story was published in the January 8 issue of the McCook Daily Gazette.)
McCOOK, Neb. — Discussion of the diesel spill near the city’s 4 million gallon water tank has brought some old news back to the front page of the McCook Daily Gazette.
While at least one council member argued that the city was unaware of the diesel spill, as Public Works Director Marty Conroy pointed out in Monday night’s meeting, the council granted easements in April 1995 for Burlington Northern Railroad to install groundwater monitoring equipment.
At that time, a Burlington Northern Railroad said the railroad accepted full responsibility for the diesel spill near city-owned land.
An article published in the McCook Daily Gazette on April 18 of that year, quoted Jim Cunningham, BN supervisor of environmental operations as saying “We are the responsible party, and we will accept full responsibility for this. ”
Cunningham attended the regular meeting of the McCook City Council to request easements for the installation of groundwater monitoring equipment on city owned property. It was reported the company had already installed 17 monitoring wells on its own property.
HWS Consulting Group Inc. was to complete a sub-surface investigation for Burlington Northern as part of a requirement by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.
According the project manager Ray Frey, cleanup project manager with HWS, the contamination came from an above ground diesel storage tank and associated underground piping in the railyard. He said no one knew exactly when the spill occurred.
Frey told the council, which at that time included Mayor Flora Lundberg, Dennis Berry, Phil Lyons, Dick Mitchell and Linda Taylor, his company had tested 1,000 feet in two directions from the source, “and we’re still chasing it. Frey told the council monitoring could continue for the next 20 years.”
“We’re just getting started right now,” Frey said.
“We need to find the plume. We’re hoping that these wells will determine that. “