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5.8.03 M.U.D. eager to start big project along Platte After years of delays, the Metropolitan Utilities District is moving forward with its proposed $300 million well field and water treatment plant along the Platte River -- expecting that federal approval will come within weeks. The utility has begun negotiating a design contract with HDR Inc. that the M.U.D. board plans to vote on by early June. The contract is worth up to $11.5 million. "Enough is enough," Mark Doyle, chairman of the board, said Wednesday. "We have done everything we've been asked to do and then some. It's time." The project has required several additional studies because of concerns from nearby landowners and public officials about its effects on the water table and because the aquifer about two miles away is extensively contaminated. Rodney Schwartz, the Army Corps of Engineers project manager in charge of M.U.D.'s expansion, said the corps' goal is to decide on the project this month. The latest round of tests is still being analyzed. Any action that M.U.D. takes before a decision by the corps, he said, "is one they take at their own risk." Tom Wurtz, general manager at M.U.D., said he hopes that the corps' decision comes before the board's vote on the HDR contract. But should something delay a corps decision, he said, the board will vote anyway. The contract would allow M.U.D. to opt out if necessary. Doyle said the utility needs to move on a parallel track with the federal government to avoid losing another construction season. As it stands now, the earliest the plant at 216th and Q Streets could come on line is 2008. Omaha-area residents, who have been under voluntary water restrictions for parts of the past two summers, could find themselves facing at least five more years of conservation measures, depending upon rainfall. Worse, though, Wurtz said, is that, lacking federal permission to expand its capacity, M.U.D. has stopped assuring developers that it can provide water to new areas. Toby Churchill, executive director of the Sarpy County Economic Development Corp., said M.U.D.'s stalled expansion has been a red flag for companies thinking about locating in western Sarpy County. Although he hasn't lost any prospects yet, he said, "every day can be critical" as a couple of firms close in on their decisions. Combined, M.U.D.'s project and an environmental cleanup of the nearby Mead Superfund site involve $420 million in public money. Federal officials generally have been satisfied that M.U.D.'s future water supply is not at risk from contamination at the former munitions site at Mead. Instead, what they have been studying most recently is whether M.U.D.'s pumping would jeopardize the cleanup by enlarging the area of contamination. The pollution, primarily from explosives and solvents, is across from M.U.D.'s site, generally flowing downhill past it. Studies have shown that M.U.D'.s pumping could pull the contamination about 1,000 feet eastward toward M.U.D.'s land. If that occurs, any new contamination would still be within the cleanup boundaries. The strongest opposition has come from local landowners and officials in Saunders County, where many of the wells would be placed. Doris Karloff, Saunders County supervisor, said the county remains worried about the impact that the wells would have on water supplies, property values and property taxes. "We're willing to sit down and talk with them, but our position hasn't changed," Karloff said. Once the permit decision is made, the county will consider its options, she said, and legal action remains possible. M.U.D., the Corps of Engineers and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are hammering out the conditions that MUD would have to meet to receive a permit. Those discussions are obligatory, however, and Schwartz said they should not be interpreted as an indication of which way the corps is leaning. Still, Wurtz said, it is M.U.D.'s understanding that the permit is forthcoming as long as tests indicate that any problem with contamination can be contained or treated. Ultimately, the corps' permission isn't necessary for M.U.D. to build. The utility already owns the land, and it has received the necessary water permits from the State of Nebraska. The corps' permit is needed to allow M.U.D. to take steps that affect waterways. For example, pipeline construction would temporarily disturb the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers. M.U.D. could design around that, but at a higher cost. That, Wurtz and Doyle said, is a scenario that M.U.D. doesn't want to contemplate. "This community can't wait any longer," Doyle said. "We need to plan for growth, not curtail growth. We need to get started." |
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