Lindsay Manufacturing Co. is a 42-acre facility in Lindsay, Nebraska that has made galvanized irrigation equipment since 1965. It was added to the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989 after discharge of sulfuric acid waste into an unlined pond and releases of chlorinated solvents contaminated local groundwater and soils. The site is still on the NPL and has not yet achieved sitewide readiness for anticipated reuse.
The EPA identified 14 contaminants of concern found in groundwater and soil. These include chlorinated solvents such as tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and several dichloroethane and dichloroethene compounds, along with metals including cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc, plus sulfate and 1,4-dioxane. Contaminated groundwater has been found in a perched sand channel on the northern half of the site and in clay soils near the main plant. About 3,000 people live within a three-mile radius, and groundwater in the area supplies both drinking water and agricultural use.
Cleanup has moved through several phases. An interceptor well went in during 1983, and a groundwater extraction and treatment system has been running since 1984. A second extraction well was added in 1989. A Record of Decision (ROD) signed in 1990 required soil vapor extraction, which ran from 1995 to 1998. In 2001, a compound was injected to boost natural breakdown of remaining volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In 1997, the EPA approved an approach that uses treated groundwater for irrigation on a neighboring farm, cutting treatment costs by about $100,000 per year. In 2022, the company installed an In Situ Thermal Remediation System to heat and treat source areas inside the manufacturing footprint. That system ran until July 2023, and two years of follow-up sampling is now underway to check results.
Current status: the EPA's 2023 Five-Year Review found the remedy protects human health and the environment in the short term. Human exposure pathways are under control, and contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. However, continued protectiveness requires reassessment of current conditions and evaluation of the groundwater extraction system. Institutional controls such as activity and use limitations are still being developed by state and federal agencies. The potentially responsible party, Lindsay Manufacturing Co., conducts quarterly groundwater sampling. The next Five-Year Review is scheduled for 2028.
Community members can review site records at the Columbus Public Library in Columbus, Nebraska. For questions, contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager, or the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment through its main office.
