Picture postcard of the American Smelting and “Roofing” (actually Refining) Co., Omaha, Nebraska, from 1915. Found in an antique shop in Oklahoma by Rick Galusha.

How can Mayor Daub’s plan for the ASARCO lead refinery site be rewritten so taxpayers assume no liability for its toxic wastes and public health and the environment are better protected?

In several key ways, environmentalists and lawyers specializing in hazardous waste sites say.

Daub has proposed demolishing buildings on the 23-acre site at 500 Douglas St. and burying them there, under clay and clean dirt, then using the property as a park. His plan would not clean up the soil or groundwater contaminated with toxic wastes, nor would it prevent contaminated groundwater from continuing to flow into the Missouri River, as it has for decades.

People familiar with hazardous waste site cleanups and taxpayer liability say the mayor’s plan is flawed. They cite, for example, ASARCO has agreed to a far more extensive cleanup on its property in Tacoma, WA., than proposed in Omaha because public officials in Washington required more cleanup and environmental protection.

A coalition of Nebraska environmental groups and several attorneys have suggested rewriting Daub’s plan to keep ASARCO liable for the wastes it created and to better protect health, soil, wildlife and the river ecosystem.

Among their suggestions:

Having ASARCO retain title to the property. If the city takes title or leases the site, Omaha taxpayers will assume some liability if a problem arises. The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, which approved Daub’s plan, acknowledged that “taking title or possession of the ASARCO site would expose the City of Omaha to potential liability…”
Having independent agencies gather and analyze data on contamination both on and off the site. ASARCO and its subsidiaries have gathered all the data so far. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have expertise to assess polluted sites.
Forming a citizens’ environmental committee to review information, review options and make recommendations. Citizens were part of the Tacoma site assessment, which took four years to complete. Daub and ASARCO negotiated in secret preparing his plan.
Having the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study the river’s ecosystem before final decisions are made about the ASARCO site. No thorough assessment of the site’s impact on the river and its aquatic life has been made, and the Fish and Wildlife Service has called for studies.
Studying more options about the site than Daub and ASARCO have revealed. The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has not studied various options for cleaning up or covering over the site. Its staff only studied the option ASARCO and the mayor gave it. The public has yet to see other options ASARCO considered or hear why ASARCO has not proposed removing toxins from the groundwater.

The citizens’ committee could look at various alternatives for using the ASARCO site, not just a treeless park. And the committee could look at the other nearby properties proposed to become part of the Back to the River proposal supported by U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey - the former Union Pacific shops property, Aaron Ferer & Sons, and others. They also are polluted.

Some environmentalists believe that the plan adopted for the ASARCO site may set a precedent for cleanup and reuse of the other polluted riverfront properties, so it is essential to require a more thorough plan for the ASARCO site than the mayor has announced. Daub’s plan also calls for covering with dirt and clay 1.4 acres of

Union Pacific property which contains ASARCO contamination.

Brinker Harding, a Daub aide involved in the ASARCO project, declined to discuss why Daub wants to take title to the ASARCO site. Harding also declined to be interviewed for this story.

He said the city will prepare an agreement keeping ASARCO liable for any problems that occur because of hazardous wastes buried on the site. Harding also said details of the mayor’s plan will be discussed at a public hearing before the Omaha City Council and elsewhere.

City and state officials have said no trees or deep-rooted grasses would be planted in the proposed park on the ASARCO site because their roots would break through the clean dirt and extend into the buried toxins.

Some environmentalists say options for the site other than a treeless park should be considered. The citizens’ committee could look at various options.