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6.15.04 NRD gives consent to well field A long-awaited well-field project to bring water into western Douglas and Sarpy Counties appears ready to move ahead. After years of legal fights and fierce opposition from Saunders County residents, the Omaha-based Metropolitan Utilities District has climbed its last political hurdle for the project. The Lower Platte North Natural Resources District Board voted 11-8 Monday to approve the Saunders County well-field project near Yutan -- subject to six additional conditions. M.U.D. is reviewing whether the added conditions are legal, M.U.D. attorneys said Tuesday. "We hope this would be the end of it, and we can move forward," said Tom Wurtz, M.U.D. general manager and president. "We've been happy to work with the NRD, and we appreciate their help." The NRD board voted last month not to grant M.U.D.'s permit, saying the application was incomplete. M.U.D. then threatened to sue, contending the NRD overstepped its authority. Typically, NRD administrators handle well permits without involving the board. M.U.D. already has received the necessary state and federal permits. Most of M.U.D.'s 40 new pumping wells would go on 1,100 acres of farmland near Yutan. M.U.D. plans to pump no more than 52 million gallons of water daily, rising to more than 70 million gallons daily in the summer. The wells would provide water for future developments in western Sarpy and Douglas Counties. Wurtz hopes to complete the well project by June 1, 2008. The NRD's conditions were actually "assurances" that M.U.D. attorneys spelled out in a letter Thursday to NRD General Manager John Miyoshi. M.U.D. said it would install flow meters for each well, provide data sampling for any contaminants from the former Mead ammunitions plant, install data loggers on all wells and comply with other regulatory conditions set forth in its permits. M.U.D. also has agreed to construct a comprehensive groundwater model of the Platte River West region. The study will take into account the impact of M.U.D.'s well field, the City of Lincoln's well field at Ashland, Ashland's municipal wells, and cleanup efforts on the contamination plume in Mead. "The Mead plume will have no impact on our well field," Wurtz said. "That's been a major misconception out in the public in recent months." Also, M.U.D. has agreed to participate in a committee with the Lower Platte North and Papio-Missouri River NRDs and affected landowners. Details of the panel members will be determined later. |
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