5/21/2010
By TIM UNRUH Salina Journal

Pulling strength from unity, four Salina public entities are determined and confident in their push to rid soil and groundwater of pollutants under southwest Salina.

But resolution will take more time, Tim Rogers, Salina Airport Authority executive director told a Salina League of Women Voters committee Thursday morning.

Filing a federal lawsuit is next in the multiyear battle to get the U.S. Department of Defense to pay to clean up pollutants it left behind during 24 years operating the former Schilling Air Force Base.

The public entities -- the city of Salina, Salina Airport Authority, Salina School District and Kansas State University at Salina -- are in the settlement phase in negotiations with the Department of Justice, Rogers said.

For the community's case to be heard in federal court, a suit must be filed, Rogers said in a report to the league's water committee.

Salina entered a new phase in the project during 2009 when it submitted a demand letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps sent the letter on to the justice department. Negotiations began last fall.

"We are stating we have a claim against the United States of America. We have delivered a settlement offer to the DOJ," Rogers said.

He would not disclose details of the demand letter, settlement offer or discussions from "several negotiating sessions" between the community's attorneys and federal lawyers.

The various governing boards will be asked at their next public meetings to authorize filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Kansas City. The Salina City Commission will consider the request at its Monday meeting.

"The suit gets you in front of the judge," Rogers said. "We want to reach a settlement without prolonged litigation."

Going to court is thought to be the swiftest route toward resolution.

"At this stage of negotiations, we are optimistic a fair and reasonable settlement with the Department of Justice will occur," said Jason Gage, Salina city manager.

They intend to expedite the filing so no statute of limitations issues come into play, Rogers said. "We don't want to give the DOJ a defense."

Problem hasn't changed

A large plume of trichloroethylene -- a compound once widely used as an industrial solvent -- is in the water and soil. Over 20 years or more, tens of thousands of gallons of solvent were released into ditches surrounding the airport.

Based on data from twice yearly samples pulled from more than 150 monitoring wells in and around Salina Municipal Airport and the adjacent Airport Industrial Center, the plume is moving slowly toward city water wells. The pollutant is still more than a mile away from the nearest well. The latest estimates place the contamination between seven and 77 years from reaching the wells, said Dennis Kuhlman, dean of K-State at Salina.

The League of Women Voters committee has met periodically with local leaders for updates on the effort to maintain local control of the cleanup project, while at the same time, pay for it with federal dollars.

Quoting U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates, Rogers said it will take $15 billion to $20 billion to clean up all 9,000 Formerly Used Defense sites around the nation. Salina was given the base in the middle 1960s after it closed. Schilling is one of 123 FUD sites in Kansas.

Just how much it will cost for the Schilling cleanup wasn't disclosed at Thursday's meeting.

We want a lump sum

The Salina entities are seeking a "lump sum" payment rather than accepting yearly payments. The payments have never exceeded $2 million from the Corps of Engineers. Litigating the process takes the settlement out of the annual appropriations of U.S. tax dollars, Kuhlman said.

"It doesn't require going back to Congress," he said.

Working with the Corps of Engineers made long-range planning difficult, said Rob Winter, superintendent of Salina schools.

"We are the first community backing out of the annual appropriations process," Rogers said. "The Corps is trying to settle or cash out as many sites as they can."

The amount of settlement being sought hasn't been made public, but Rogers said it would have to be enough to sustain a 30-year cleanup project.

League committee member Ardean Maxey asked if the cost of the cleanup "goes up and up" every year.

Quite the contrary, Gage said, because the down economy has lowered costs. He said the city received "excellent bids" for work at the new Magnolia Commons area, located at the southwest corner of Interstate Highway 135 and Magnolia Road.

Looking at investments

To ensure the settlement keeps pace with costs, the community would invest the federal money so that the dividends would aid in the cleanup as well, Rogers said.

"We have financial advisers working on models of how to invest those funds," he said.

It's important to invest in "inflation protected funds," Rogers said, such as U.S. Treasury bills.

Asked when the settlement period would end, Kuhlman quipped, "December. I'm not going to say what year."

He expressed hope in 2009 that resolution could be reached by the end of the year.

"I think we're very close," Rogers said. "Negotiations have intensified with DOJ. That's extremely good news for this community."

First money, then work

League of Women Voters committee member Bruce Wyatt asked, "Would it be fair to say it's time to get on with the process?"

Some mild remediation is being done, Kuhlman said, pointing to air ventilation at K-State at Salina and Salina School District buildings.

"The major stuff can't be done without the settlement," Rogers said.

The community maintains that federal dollars should pay for the cleanup.

"It would be foolish for us to jump out and start doing something without an imminent threat," Gage said. "If there was an imminent threat, we would change gears."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.