By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
Right now, there could be up to 380,000 gallons of aviation fuel sitting on top of the ground water at the Sioux Gateway Airport, and all that fuel needs to be cleaned up. But to do that it could cost between $1.5-$17 million. But the city doesn't believe it should be footing the bill alone.
"The expectation is that at some point in the past the department of defense used this site as a military base," said Jade Dundas, city public works director.
The city says the aviation leak includes fuel from the B-17 and B-29 bombers that were stationed here during World War II. The city even hired a geo-chemical engineer to try and determine that it was military style fuel that contributed to the leaks. But reports from those studies were inconclusive and that's why the Army Corp of Engineers on behalf of the DOD says it's not responsible.
"At no point is there any discussion of military jet usage because they were able to forensically determine based on the chemical make up, that it was Jet A, which is a commercial jet fuel," said Thomas Tracy, attorney for The Army Corp of Engineers.
The Environmental Protection Agency has now stepped in to reviews records to help determine who needs to pay for the clean up.
"That's the position we will be in the entire time... to make sure we get a clean up at the airport. What we're discussing is different responsible parties and what different roles the different agencies will play," said David Bryan, with the EPA.
The EPA did say it is working on setting up meetings between the Army Corp of Engineers and the City of Sioux City, but as of right now, no dates have been selected. If the contaminated water spreads, it could pose a threat to drinking water, but as of right now the city says there are no signs of that.
