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Report on the Mercury Manometer Program
Since 1993 KDHE's Mercury Manometer
Program has worked with the natural gas industry
to identify and remediate gas pipeline meter stations
affected by releases from mercury manometers. Throughout
the lifetime of the program, 6,530 sites were identifed
as having used mercury manometers. Of these 40%
needed cleanup and have been successfully remediated.
KDHE has issued a report
on the successful conclusion of this program.
Hanover USDA Site Community Involvement Plan available
KDHE has developed a Community Involvement Plan for the Hanover USDA site.
State
River Basin Updates and Site Accomplishments for
2009 (.pdf)
KDHE Assists Hutchinson to Open Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant
In 1994 the City of Hutchinson took the lead in investigating groundwater contamination at the
4th and Carey Site on the City's east side under a consent order with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
and in cooperation with several private companies. Contaminants detected in the groundwater are volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) including carbon tetrachloride from grain fumigation and trichloroethene from metal degreasing.
The groundwater on the east side of the City is also contaminated with chloride from former salt and soda ash
manufacturing facilities.
After completing the investigation
of the nature and extent of the contamination, the
City, in cooperation with KDHE and several private
companies, developed a regional approach to remediation
of the contaminated groundwater. The City decided
to build a reverse osmosis water treatment plant.
The contaminated water is pumped out of the ground
by several water wells and piped to the treatment
plant where contaminants are removed by a combination
of reverse osmosis filtration and air stripping.
The contaminants are diverted to a waste stream
that is piped to deep disposal wells located south
of the City. The filtered water goes through a secondary
treatment in a degasifying tower to remove carbon
dioxide and any remaining volatile organic compounds.
The clean, treated water is blended with uncontaminated
water from the City's water supply well field. The
blended/treated water is piped to the drinking water
supply distribution system.
The regional approach to groundwater
remediation addresses contamination from several
sources including three grain elevators at the 4th
and Carey Site, manufacturing plants located in
the area of 4th and Airport Road, and the Obee Road
Superfund Site. The treatment system has the added
benefit of removing some of the salt contamination
generated by former salt and soda ash manufacturing
plants. This approach to remediation removes VOCs
and chloride from the aquifer, conserves water resources
by using the treated water for the City's drinking
water supply, and protects the City's drinking water
supply for the future
Some of the funding for the project
came from settlements between the City and several
companies including the Bunge North America Inc.,
Farmland Industries, Inc., The Mosaic Company, and
Textron, Inc. The remaining funds came from Federal
grant money, a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District
established for the 4th and Carey Site, and $16,700,000
in low interest loans from the State Revolving Loan
Fund administered by KDHE.
Environmental Use Control Regulations Amended to Expand the Program
The Environmental Use Controls
(EUC) Program provides the owner of an environmentally
contaminated property a mechanism to voluntarily
restrict the current and future use of the owner's
property. This allows the owner to spend less on
cleaning up the contamination while still being
protective of human health and the environment.
Previously a contaminated property
defined as a "hazardous waste facility" by K.S.A.
65-3430(f) was not eligible for participation in
the EUC Program. KDHE has amended the definition
of "eligible property" in K.A.R. 28-73-1(c) to remove
the language which prevents these hazardous waste
facilities from participating in the EUC Program.
The new regulation went into effect January 30,
2009.
This amendment provides the owners
of dozens of contaminated properties more flexibility
in addressing the contamination, including expedited
remediation of contaminated properties, less expense
to the property owners, and increased protection
of human health and the environment through the
use of voluntary land use restrictions.
KDHE announced the proposed regulation change in the October 2, 2008, Kansas Register. That
action began a 60 day public comment period. KDHE received no written or oral comments from
the public.
Environmental Use Controls
Documents:
Identified
Sites List - a searchable list of contaminated
sites in Kansas
- Site Location Map for most sites
- Site photos available for many sites
- As of August 2, 2010, commonly requested site documents will be available for many sites.
Risk-Based Standards for Kansas Manual
Field Activities Notification Form
Site Specific Program Accomplishments
Voluntary Cleanup & Property Redevelopment Program Manual
List of Accredited Environmental Labs
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