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City gets update on KDHE project

By Travis Mounts, Times-Sentinel Newspapers

Cheney City Council members heard an update at last Thursday’s regular meeting on the status of work to clean pollutants from under some downtown properties. The report came from Seth Kostbar, project manager for Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Environmental Remediation.

In 2001, five underground storage tanks ranging in size from 2,000 to 10,000 gallons were removed from the block that now is the sight of Gould Chiropractic, Cheney Pharmacy, Ott Auto Sales and Farrell’s Body and Repair. It was reported that the tanks had not been used since 1959 and were filled by a pipeline located in the alley that offloaded from the railroad. At the time, there were signs of oil contamination. In 2003, several sources of soil contamination were found.

Site monitoring wells have been installed since 2004, and additional monitoring wells were drilled and installed in February 2008 and April 2009.

A report and plan to remove the contamination were completed earlier this year, and work has been done over the past few weeks. Some contaminated soil has been removed and will be “landfarmed.” The landfarmed material will be tilled frequently to help biological breakdown of contaminants. In addition, a portable remediation trailer will be installed at the former Richardson Oil Company site to facilitate the removal of contaminants.

Kostbar reported that there are no private drinking water wells in the area of concern.

The Environmental Protection Agency required a number of years ago that underground storage tanks owners or operators provide pollution liability for their tanks to remain in use. For many owner/operators, the liability insurance was not available, and it was prohibitively expensive for others. In addition, policies would not cover past releases of contaminants.

In response, Kansas established the Kansas Petroleum Storage Tank Release Trust Fund, which is paid for by a once cent per gallon fuel tax. Because of the high number of applications, KDHE has a ranking system to evaluate sites and determine risks. The sites are then investigated in order, and like the Cheney site, placed in long-term monitoring if the risk score is low.

It will take time for the project to be completed, Kostbar told the council.

“The geology around here is the worst it can be. It’s weathered shale...clay. Things come out slowly,” he said.

Kostbar downplayed any risks to the public.

“It’s in the subsurface, nobody’s in danger…but there’s always potential,” he said.

Kostbar said the pollution has been here for a while and it’s not going anywhere.

The total cost, covered by the fund, could be around $275,000. The city is not liable for any costs.