Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Co

Overview

The Iowa-Nebraska Light & Power Co site is a roughly two-acre former manufactured gas plant in downtown Norfolk, Nebraska. The site sits about half a mile upgradient of the city's east municipal well field, meaning groundwater flows from the site toward that drinking water supply. The EPA added it to the National Priorities List (NPL) in April 2016. Two parties share ownership: Black Hills/Nebraska Gas Utility Company and Nebraska Public Power District.

Coal gasification operations left behind six contaminants in soil and groundwater. Those contaminants are benzene, benzo[a]pyrene, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, toluene, and xylene (mixed isomers). The main source was a buried gas holder that held roughly 10,000 cubic feet of contaminated material. Human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable contact pathways have been identified. However, the contaminated groundwater plume is still moving and has not been stabilized, raising concern about potential discharge to surface water.

Cleanup is split into two phases called operable units (OUs). The first phase, OU 01, targets source materials in the soil. A removal action in 2014 hauled away about 10,495 tons of contaminated soil and demolished site buildings. On January 27, 2025, the EPA and the responsible parties signed a Consent Decree to proceed with In Situ Thermal Treatment, a method that heats the ground to vaporize and extract contaminants. Remedial design started in October 2024 and is expected to finish by 2027. The actual construction work, called the remedial action, is estimated to start between March and May 2028. The estimated cost is 7.9 million dollars. The second phase, OU 02, addresses the broader groundwater plume. Investigation has been ongoing since 2017, with monitoring wells and multi-depth sampling used to map the contamination. The EPA will issue a separate cleanup decision for groundwater after the source materials phase is further along.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. For state-related questions, contact the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.