It’s been almost 10 years since the Environmental Protection Agency began looking at clearing Iola residential properties of lead-tainted soil.
And after an early stretch of activity in 2006 and 2007, in which more than 100 local properties had their yards replenished with “clean dirt,” the project was shuffled to the back burner.
That changes this month, when the EPA returns to clear more than 300 additional properties of contaminated dirt.
Randy Schademann, the EPA’s on-scene coordinator, gave City Council members Monday a brief synopsis of the removal action.
Crews should be in town later this month — perhaps as early as next Monday — to begin the excavation.
“It was always meant to be a phased approach,” Schademann said, but financial issues, bureaucratic red tape and other issues put the project on hiatus for several years.
The wheels began turning again in late 2012, when the EPA put Iola on its National Priorities List and declared the city a Superfund Site.
Since then, Schademann has visited with property owners, encouraging them to let their yards be tested — participation is voluntary — and he has been allowed to test more than 1,000 properties.
Those with lead contamination levels of more than 800 parts per million will be cleared first.
Schademann expects the work to run until November before winter intervenes, then resume early next spring.
Then, when those yards are cleared — Schademann said the phase should be wrapped up next summer — the third phase begins, when crews will target properties with lead contamination levels of 400 ppm.
He hopes the final phase is wrapped up by 2017.
Schademann said a handful of property owners were resistant to allowing their yards be tested.
Most relented after he pointed out refusing could affect property values.
“This project (and the list of cleared properties) is public record,” he said.
The federal government is funding the bulk of the $8 million to $10 million remediation project. Another 10 percent is funded by the state.
Neither the city, nor the property owners, are being asked to contribute.
Schademann is visiting with each individual property owner prior to the excavation to discuss such things as trees and and landscaping items landowners would like to see retained. He has sent out more than 1,100 letters in the past two weeks.
A public meeting to answer additional questions from the community will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Iola Public Library.
A 15-YEAR city employee will keep his job after a split council declined to order his termination.
Kevin Rush, who has worked for the city since 2001, sat silently in the audience as Council members met privately for 40 minutes to decide his fate.
Upon their return from the closed session, Council members voted 3-3 for Rush’s termination. Voting for the termination were Jon Wells, Donald Becker and Nancy Ford. Voting against the firing were Aaron Franklin, Sandy Zornes and Bob Shaughnessy. Not voting were Beverly Franklin, who had to leave the meeting early, and Austin Sigg, who was absent.
The 3-3 deadlock sent the matter to Mayor Joel Wicoff, who also voted “nay,” preserving Rush’s job.
He works for the Electric Distribution Department.
There was no reason given for Rush’s potential firing. He left the meeting without comment.
In a related matter, the Council accepted the resignations of Michael Aronson with the Police Department and Matthew Sanchez with the Fire Department. Aronson has joined the Allen County Sheriff’s Department.
