By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Contaminated soil was discovered last week during excavation work at the county’s transfer station project.

Refuse director Bud Druse alerted county commissioners to the contamination during Monday’s county commission meeting.

Leon Osbourn, project engineer for Kaw Valley Engineering in Junction City, said it appears a small area of diesel fuel was dumped or spilled adjacent to where a new foundation will soon be laid.

The transfer station building was originally a Marion electric plant operated by diesel fuel.

“It looked like maybe some diesel fuel got dumped,” Osbourn said. “There might have been an old diesel storage tank there, we don’t know. Somebody could have lost a five gallon drum of diesel.”

Osbourn said a soil sample has been sent to a laboratory in Kansas City for testing. Test results should be known in a couple weeks.

Although Osbourn doesn’t yet know the quantity of dirt with contamination, he said it appears to be a small area.

The size of the contaminated area dictates what will need to be done to remediate the contamination.

Osbourn said another surprise found during excavation is old concrete foundations.

Despite the discoveries, work is continuing at the site.

In other matters at the commission meeting:

• Commissioners discussed the need to create a job description for a county engineer to work with the road and bridge department, then tabled the issue to a later meeting.
• Discussed the possibility of an agreement with Bergkamp Construction, which is rebuilding a road nearby and has offered to sell the county crushed concrete removed from the job. Road and Bridge supervisor Jesse Hamm said there is no guarantee the crushed concrete will not contain metal.
• Talked about trucks working for Diamond Vista wind farm project in the northern section of the county driving on roads not designated as haul routes despite an agreement with the county that trucks are to remain on designated roadways. Hamm said he has contacted the developer several times about the issue and often gets no response from them.