Editorial

Showdown set for 'Arsenic and the Old West'

Friday, June 13, 2003

Ignored by bureaucrats, ridiculed by environmentalists and given excuses by politicians, the mayors of Southwest Nebraska are taking matters into their own hands regarding the sharply lower arsenic levels allowed for community water supplies.

With a unanimous show of hands, a Southwest Nebraska planning committee voted Wednesday to host an "Arsenic & The Old West" conference. The event, set for Aug. 20 in McCook, is designed to call national attention to the financial plight faced by the towns and villages which have naturally occurring arsenic in their water supplies.

The troubles for towns in this area -- and other parts of the Old West -- started when the Environmental Protection Agency slashed the maximum allowable levels for drinking water from 50 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion.

The ruling, which takes full effect in 2006, puts the water supplies of the vast majority of towns in Southwest Nebraska in jeopardy.

In search of solutions, communities up and down the Republican River Valley are looking at costs ranging up to $2 million to $10 million ... or more ... to either find new well fields or treat the water supplies already in existence.

It's a hit or miss situation. Danbury, in southern Red Willow County, is safely under the arsenic standard at 5 parts per billion, while Lebanon -- just eight miles to the east -- is far over the limit, with readings up to 23 parts per billion.

As a start of the movement, the mayors chose a name for their organization: the Republican Valley Water Quality Coalition, and selected a chairperson: Jerda Garey, mayor of McCook.

For Wednesday's session, Garey was joined by mayors, town board members and others concerned about the arsenic issue, including Merle Berry, Danbury; Tom Spunaugle, Imperial; Mark Harpst, Cambridge; Marv Colson, Bartley; and Keith Arterburn and Gene O. Morris, McCook. Also taking part were State Sen. Tom Baker, Trenton, and Scott Hoffman of McCook, staff assistant for U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson.

Conference planning has already begun. This morning, Garey, Hoffman and Morris took part in a conference call with Susan Seacrest, director of the Groundwater Foundation program in Nebraska, to discuss agenda items for the Aug. 20 session.

Time is short. The August date leaves just over two months to line up speakers, set the agenda and send invitations. But the need is urgent. "Communities don't have much time," Mayor Garey said. "We're staring straight in the face of a federal mandate which will cost us millions of dollars. We have to do all we can to stand up for the citizens of small towns."

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