6.3.04 People air concerns about M.U.D.'s plans for expansion by Nancy Gaarder, Omaha World-Herald During a sometimes confrontational meeting, about a dozen people opposed to the Metropolitan Utilities District's expansion along the Platte River had a chance Wednesday to tell the board why they are worried. But it initially wasn't clear whether the public was going to be allowed to speak at the board's monthly meeting. At the conclusion of the agenda items, board chairman Jack Frost prepared to go into closed session without indicating whether there would be a public comment period. One person objected, and after a brief back and forth, Frost agreed to allow people to talk. The group is concerned that M.U.D.'s $300 million expansion along the Platte will lower water tables without proper compensation to affected landowners, expand the extent of nearby polluted groundwater and possibly result in contamination of some domestic wells. M.U.D. plans to install its wells a couple of miles east of a broad band of contaminated aquifer. The contamination is a federal Superfund site, which means it ranks as one of the Environmental Protection Agency's top priorities. The cleanup is being handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because it is the site of a former munitions plant. Board member Mark Doyle said M.U.D. has studied the issue thoroughly for years. "I don't want you to be scaring people," he said. "We're not going to pump contaminated water into our distribution system." Among the issues raised by the citizens: Concerns that surface water in the area has been contaminated by polluted groundwater. The inability of treatment wells at the cleanup site to function at full capacity. Evolving information about the nature of contamination and efforts to characterize it. Dorothy Lanphier of Omaha asked the board to do a cost-benefit analysis that took into account costs M.U.D. would incur if its pumping caused contamination to break free. M.U.D. and the Corps of Engineers have said that such a problem is unlikely and would not be allowed to occur. Another area resident, Lorus Luetkenhaus, was critical of M.U.D. for not providing the citizen's group access to M.U.D.'s public documents. In one exchange, board member Doyle held up three documents and asked Lanphier: "Have you read this report? Have you read this one? Have you read this one? A little while later, nodding to Doyle, Kris Funk told the board that she sensed their frustration. "But we're a bunch of terrified citizens," she said. The way M.U.D. is handling things, she said, "makes it appear as if you think you are above the law." Click here to go to the top of this page

2004 news 2003 news 2002 news 2001 news