Comment period opens for Norfolk contamination cleanup site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the filing of a settlement agreement with three parties requiring the cleanup of contamination at the Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Company Superfund Site in Norfolk.

The settlement was filed in the United States District Court of the District of Nebraska and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The public comment period ends Dec. 9.

Under the terms of the settlement, the parties – Brightspeed Kansas Holdings LLC, Nebraska Public Power District, and Black Hills-Nebraska Gas LLC – will complete a cleanup action that was approved by EPA in 2022.

Cleanup activity will include in-place treatment of contamination, accompanied by environmental monitoring, to ensure that the cleanup meets its goals and is protective of human health and the environment. All work at the site will be subject to EPA review and approval. The settling parties will be responsible for reimbursing EPA for costs incurred in reviewing the work.

The Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Company Superfund Site includes areas where a manufactured gas plant operated until the 1940s. Generally, these types of plants produced fuel by heating coal. Soil and groundwater contamination at the site has included coal tars, compounds found in motor oils, and metals. EPA has been overseeing investigation and cleanup at the site since the 1990s.

Information about how to submit a public comment is available on the Federal Register.

Read more about the Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company Superfund Site, accessible at https://cumulis.epa.gov.