By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Stevens Point, the village of Whiting and Portage County will consider revising the ordinance to protect ground water in order to allow some hazardous materials within the Portage County Business Park.
The Stevens Point Plan Commission said Monday, June 5, that the issue should be addressed further, along with questions and concerns raised by residents and aldermen.
Some aldermen at the meeting didn't want protections reduced.
The present ordinance specifically lists prohibited materials within the five-year time of travel of the Whiting well fields, and the business park is located within that area.
Charles Kell, county planning director, said the ordinance prohibits use, storage or handling hazardous materials in the business park, yet the ordinance doesn't control property beyond that area.
The proposal would extend the area of protection, while permitting some uses and storage, he said, pointing out that Pointe Precision, 2301 Country Club Drive, uses materials that the ordinance wouldn't allow and wouldn't be allowed to locate there now.
Kell said the proposal involves two major issues, making sure water is protected and siting industry in the community. "We're trying to come up with a regulatory approach and still allow industry to expand," he said.
He acknowledged that some firms inquired about locating in the Portage County Business Park but they used chemicals on the prohibited list in the ordinance.
Whiting is the most affected by the change, and Kell, the village president, said he feels the community can handle the situation because it has been on the cutting edge of ground water issues.
"We have built some things into the ordinance that can require inspections from outside resources to see if the ordinance is being met," he said.
He told The Gazette he feels traffic on Interstate 39 or the railroad tracks was more likely to cause a problem than chemicals in a controlled building. Thousands of gallons of hazardous materials in tankers travel through the area daily, more than would be stored in the industrial park, he said.
Ray Schmidt, water quality specialist in the Planning and Zoning Department, said the proposal is based on ordinances in Dayton and Pekin, Ohio, which relies on industry to design and construct a facility and then requires periodic inspections for compliance.
A business using chemicals could locate in the area, he said, and would be subject to inspections, plus a design of the facility to contain the chemicals if a spill occurs. "We are going beyond the ordinance," he said. "I don't agree that prohibition is the best."
Schmidt told The Gazette that the proposal goes beyond the current provisions about what goes into the area. "Some businesses are going in there now and we don't have the ability to regulate them."
There's no wellhead protection east of Brilowski Road because the ordinance doesn't include that area, he said, and Whiting doesn't have the ability to regulate the wellhead.
The ordinance contains nothing for containment of any spill, and the proposal would do so, he said, plus it doesn't allow inspection criteria.
The present prohibition is total, he said, but a business can have chemicals there, leading to the possibility of problems.
Changing the ordinance would allow hazardous materials but would limit the amount and require up-front approval of the building design and containment plans, he said. "They would have to show where chemicals are kept."
John Gardner, community development director, said the ordinance would be different than anyplace in the state. "Is this a good idea?" he asked the commission. "If the answer is something worth pursuing, then we can work on it."
Alderman Jo Ellen Seiser, 4th Ward, who was the county's first ground water coordinator and worked on developing the existing ordinance, said "I don't think we should dilute regulation out there and permit new things." She said she didn't feel the city should allow the uses in the area.
George Kraft, director of ground water management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, said the area is the future of the water supply for municipalities and he has reservations about the proposal.
He said he's concerned about what happens when something is designed and then the property changes hands. "What if the operator doesn't maintain this?" he asked. "I'm not seeing something in here to give you security in five, 10, 15 years down the road," he said. "I'm not seeing teeth in here to bring a party into compliance, some kind of mechanism to do something immediately." In solid waste handling, businesses have to post bonds, he said.
Bryant Browne, a member of the county Groundwater Citizens Advisory Council from Stevens Point, said he has concerns after reading the proposal regarding permitted uses and prohibited uses. "I came away with the feeling that there were no prohibited uses."
Jerry Walters, chair of the Whiting Utility Committee, said the village became extremely nervous when it found out some areas were not protected. He said he thinks the proposal could be tweaked or tuned to provide the necessary protection.
Alderman John Kedrowski, 5th Ward, said "The most precious thing we can pass on to the generation 100 years from now is ground water," asking if the city is ready to take chances with its ground water. Whiting and Plover have to treat their water, he said, referring to programs in those villages to remove nitrate.