Problem:  Downtown Wichita, KS developed a problem with 
groundwater contamination.  The contaminants were industrial 
solvents, which were spreading quickly through the area.  The 
spread of the pollution caused a decline in property values and 
interfered with plans for improvement and redevelopment; mortgages 
were unavailable in the area.  

Proposed Solution:  The adverse economic effects on the business 
district from the contamination were severe enough that it was 
felt that the typical decontamination process involving Superfund 
and the EPA moved too slowly to help the district recover.  
Instead, the city took charge of the problem.  Local businesses, 
particularly Coleman Co, helped pay the cost of the cleanup; tax 
increases also helped provide the necessary revenue.  The city 
assumed liability for the cleanup on some of the land in the 
affected area in order to encourage the resumption of lending.

Evaluation:  Thus far, the project appears successful.  The areas 
real estate markets have recovered, and commercial development has 
resumed in the area.  Removal of the contaminated water has begun 
in some areas and will soon extend to others.  In general, 
recovery and cleanup have taken place more quickly than is normal 
for Superfund/EPA projects.

Contacts:  Chris Cherches, City Manager, City Hall, 13th Floor, 
455 N. Main St, Wichita, KS  67202.  Phone 316-268-4351.

Citation:  "Innovations 1992."  Governing Magazine, Volume 6, 
October 1992, p. 36.

Keywords: pollution cleanup environment

Disclaimer: The file contained in the box above or displayed in a separate window from a link in the box above is NOT owned nor implied to be owned by BeYoND THe iLLuSioN. Most files at BeYoND THe iLLuSioN are originally from public Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) which were popular in the days before the Internet or from gopher, web, and FTP sites from the early days of the Internet which no longer exist today. Essentially, all files were acquired from the public domain in one for or another.

However, there have been occasions when copyright protected material has appeared on BeYoND THe iLLuSIoN without permission of the copyright holder. In these instances, we have and will continue to remove the copyright protected file as soon as it is brought to our attention. This can now be done using our Report Copyright Material form. Fill out the form, and the webmaster will be notified of the situation.

There are also times when files found on BeYoND THe iLLuSioN have a real home somewhere else on the Internet. In these instances, we will gladly replace the file with a link to its true home whenever it is brought to our attention. If you know of the true home of any of these files, you can use our Report Original URL form to bring it yo our attention.