Deep-well injection closer to reality

A disposal system to get rid of the waste from the drinking water treatment plant is one step closer to completion, with a bid for construction work up for approval at the regular City Council meeting Monday night, 7:30 in City Council Chambers at Memorial Auditorium.

The council will be asked to approve the $247,236 bid from Industrial Process Technology Inc. of South Dakota, the only bid received, to complete the work at the deep injection well, located at the wastewater treatment plant. IPT was also the company that installed the new water treatment plant, that was completed in 2006.

The council approved the specifications for this work in July.

The deep injection well will dispose of the anion waste generated from the water treatment plant 1,860 feet underground, below the water supply. This waste contains the arsenic, uranium and nitrates removed from the water.

The other waste from the water treatment plant, called the cation waste, which contains the salt used in the treatment will not be injected into the well, as the mixture would calcify and clog the well's perforations. The council approved $500,000 in 2008-09 budget for a cation waste disposal system.

Currently, both waste streams are being run through the sewage system.

For the month of September, 1 million gallons of anion waste and 1.12 million of cation waste was generated from the water treatment plant, estimated Jesse Dutcher, McCook Utilities Director. The injection well process is used widely in the oil industry, he said, but McCook will be one of the first municipalities to utilize it.

The bid includes the plumbing and a fiberglass building that will contain the controls, connecting it to the water treatment plant.

A completion date of Jan. 31, 2009, is included in the project at which time the well will be fully operational, said Dutcher.

Other regular agenda items the council will vote on include:

* an easement with Qwest Corp. to install an underground fiber optic cable along the south and west side of Memorial Auditorium. The request comes from Qwest, who wants to run the optic cable from the Nebraska Department of Roads office, located near the auditorium, to their downtown facility. This would also provide a connection for the auditorium building for fiber use and an additional connection point has been discussed for the West Ward property. The easement, in the form of an ordinance, is being requested by Public Works Director Kyle Potthoff to be approved immediately, suspending the three-reading rule.

* the second reading of the "Miscellaneous Expenditures" ordinance, that allows for public funds to be used to recognize years of service awards to city employees. The ordinance caps each item purchased for this at $300.

Consent agenda items, that can approved in one motion or pulled by a member of the council or the public for discussion, include:

* bid specifications for one new patrol car for the McCook Police Department;

* approval of a supplemental agreement with the Nebraska Department of Roads to extend the time for a construction contract to be in place, for the sidewalk on West B from West 11th to Wedgewood Drive. The agreement will extend the time to April 2009. The project, known as the Inner Loop Phase, is part of the McCook Walking Trail system.

* a resolution that adopts the City of McCook Utility Department Identity Theft Prevention program. The program will create and implement a policy to detect signs of identity theft and methods to prevent it.

* receive and file information on snow removal policies

* approve the special designated liquor licenses requested from Schmick's Market, for its wine tasting events on Nov. 14 and Dec. 13.

Public hearings will also be conducted at Monday night's meeting, to hear public comment regarding re-zoning and special exception requests.

The Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department has requested the special exception to relocate its office to 404 and 406 West 10th from its current downtown location. The building in question was previously used as a church. The special exception would allow the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department to re-locate in an area zoned residential medium density.

The council has been recommended to approve the special exception.

Another public hearing will be for the re-zoning request from Orscheln's Farm and Home Store, to change a parcel of land from agricultural to highway commercial. The property is owned by Orscheln's and is needed for meet setback requirements for its new addition that was constructed.

City staff has recommended to table this request until the Nov. 3 city council meeting, when an annexation request will be considered.