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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, Nov. 114, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 125 ~ 34 of 66
Dirty water at airport prompts testing of neighborhood wells
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Contaminated water has been found at the Fairbanks International Airport, prompting of cials to plan tests at private wells in nearby neighborhoods.
Testing on the neighborhood wells will begin Monday will look for per uorinated compounds, which are commonly found in re- ghting foam, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported .
The airport well is the third area in the Fairbanks North Star Borough found with the contaminant.
“The safety of Fairbanks residents is paramount,” said Jeff Roach, airport manager. “As soon as (the contaminants) were discovered on airport property, FAI initiated the process of testing neighboring prop- erties. We will share test results with residents as they become available.”
Angie Spear, manager of airport Division Operations, said the foam probably was used in the early 1990s. Fire- ghting foam was used at the Aircraft Rescue and Fire ghting Training sites.
Studies have linked the contaminant to numerous cancers, but research is limited.
Spear said none of the airport’s contaminated wells pose a risk to residents or business owners.
Six wells on airport property were tested, and four were found to be above the Environmental Protection
Agency’s lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.
Geologist Marcy Nadel said groundwater in the region generally ows to the northwest, which is where
the bulk of testing will take place.
Spear said the testing area is larger than what is required because of “an abundance of caution.” “We’re basically trying to identify if a plume exists and what is impacted,” Spear said. “We don’t know
what risks are there, and that’s why we need to test to be sure.”
The airport will offer bottled water to those living in the test area, Spear said.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
$80M in claims won’t be paid in Northern Beef bankruptcy
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Almost $80 million that more than 100 businesses, investors, government enti- ties and others claim they’re owed won’t be paid out in bankruptcy proceedings for the Northern Beef Packers plant in South Dakota.
Court documents show there’s slightly more than $1 million available to pay a long list of bills, the Ameri- can News reported . Attorney Forrest Allred, the bankruptcy trustee, told the newspaper that the available money will cover administration fees, wage claims and some back taxes.
Of the $1.08 million available for claim payments, $214,331 has been spent, and the bankruptcy court is considering $329,403 in payments to cover bankruptcy and attorney fees.
Allred said $180,000 of the money already spent went to a settlement in a class action lawsuit to cover a portion of the lost wages of workers.
There are 60 more individual wage claims that haven’t been resolved. Allred said the remaining funds will be depleted by the tax claims once wage claims are addressed.
That will leave 111 unsecured claims totaling more than $79 million unpaid. But Allred said that gure hasn’t been veri ed since there isn’t enough money to cover it.
Northern Beef operated a beef processing plant in Aberdeen from 2012 until July 2013, when the com- pany laid off its employees, led bankruptcy and closed.
The plant was sold at a bankruptcy sale in December 2013. The new ownership group has no ties or obligations to the bankruptcy proceedings.
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Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com