Action 3 News - Omaha, Nebraska News, Weather, and Sports | Investigation: Contamination from Plant May Endanger Sarpy Water Supply
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Sarpy County, NE - A peaceful place where children play tucked away in Sarpy County. Folks who live here call it their little piece of heaven with one major drawback. People here can't drink the water.
That's the order the state slapped on the owner of the Sands Mobile Home Park last year after toxic levels of the chemical, nitrate were found in the drinking water. The order says nitrate at unsafe levels can cause serious illness and even death in babies under the age of six months, Typically what's called blue baby syndrome.
Tom Wilson, owner of the mobile home park, says the contamination is his highest concern, and he's frustrated.
No one can identify for sure the source of the pollution but some residents who live here blame it on what they call one ugly neighbor; a big business six blocks away. The PCS nitrogen plant owned by Potash Corporation out of Canada. It was shut down in 1999 but left behind contaminated ground water from a 1973 spill.
John Winkler with the Papio Missouri Rivers Natural Resources District has been trying for years to get the company to take action. "The big thing that caught our attention," he says, "are the nitrate and ammonia plumes and the contaminated ground water."
He's not alone. Action 3 News obtained letter after letter from city and county officials, state senators, state agencies, congressmen and even the governor asking PCS Nitrogen to sell the property so it can be cleaned up and then reopened.
The problem runs beyond the contaminated water at the Sands Mobile Home Park. The question now is if the same chemicals got into the water here where Platte and Missouri rivers merge. Twelve years later a few miles down the road from plant, environmentalists say the answer is probably 'yes.'
"That's the million dollar question," Winkler says. "Twelve years later, it's still standing here with continued ground water contamination. We're trying to find a resolution."
More worrisome, the city of Plattsmouth is also threatened since it uses the river's aquifer for drinking water. "The longer we wait the environmental issues don't get better only get worse," Winkler says.
We went to the Department of Environmental Quality, which says while not at dangerous levels, contamination from the spill is a concern. Sarpy County finally turned to the EPA, and now it's receiving taxpayer grant money to assess any problems, and then go from there.
Winkler says, "Quite frankly one of the biggest failures in government that I have experienced ."
But PCS spokesman Tom Pazstor tells Action 3 News Reporter Michelle Bandur it spent ten million dollars to close the plant and demolish chemical tanks and spends $300,000 every year to monitor possible contamination or other spills. He assures Action 3 News it's safe. "It's contained and has not moved or migrated. To the best of our knowledge hasn't contaminated any drinking water whatsoever."
Back at the Sands Mobile Home Park, the water has been clean the past few months, but until the chemicals are gone for good, the owner doesn't feel safe. "I hope they do their jobs to make sure if a violation they enforce the clean up for it, if company has done something wrong, they should be held accountable to clean it up and make it right ."
Reported by Michelle Bandur, michelle@action3news.com
