Dustin White

Editor

It has been 31 years since a diesel spill contaminated a large portion of downtown Mandan. However, three decades later, that portion of Mandan’s history is nearly over.

The North Dakota Department of Health, and Mandan Remediation Trust recently reported that 70 remediation wells, tied to seven remote manifolds, are to be shut down this summer. The wells in those areas have seen less than a tenth of a food of product over the last year.

With the closing of the wells, the public can expect to see some construction activity, centered near City Hall, the Morton County Courthouse, Law Enforcement and Library Square building, over this summer.

The wells were part of a system put in place in 2006 and 2007, which was set up in order to clean an underground fuel spill that spread throughout a nearly six-block area of Mandan. The installment of the system, as well as its operations, were paid for with a $24 million settlement with BNSF Railway, reached in 2004.

A full history of the spill and clean-up is in the works.