City Fast Tracks Disposal Of Oil

By Gordon Hopkins After being stored on city property for a year, Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown has now made the disposal of 38 55-gallon drums of used oil a priority. Mayor Brown has denied multiple requests by FJN for access to the oil. When FJN asked to take a sample of the oil for independent testing, the mayor said, “My answer is the same as before.” The oil came from a storage tank demolished in January 2023. On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, Brian Gorman, an Environment Specialist with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), emailed Mayor Brown, “We have not heard from you since July 5th regarding the disposition of the used oil drums at the old power plant. Please provide an update.” Gorman added, “Be reminded that if you cannot find a vendor that can manage the contents of the drums as used oil, the drum contents will need to be managed as a waste and will be subject to a hazardous waste determination.” Mayor Brown replied that same day, “I had been waiting on another vendor and it got shuffled to the bottom of my to do list, I will go ahead and revisit the quote with Tri State and get it on the council agenda asap.” The city has contacted Tri State Oil Reclaimers, Inc, a company based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that specializes in recycling used oil. According to Tri State’s website, “The used oil that is collected from our customers is filtered and processed into Recycled Fuel Oil (RFO) and sold as a less expensive alternative to traditional burner fuels such as propane, diesel, and natural gas. Mayor Brown has indicated cost for disposal of the oil will be $10,000. Expenditures $10,000 or more require approval of the city council per city municipal code § 32.004. The matter was scheduled to be on the Fairbury City Council agenda the evening of Tuesday, January 2, 2024, after press time. In April of this year, Tri State pumped out the contents of four drums of the city’s used oil but was unable to do more due to the cold temperatures. FJN spoke to a representative of Tri State, who indicated the company tests all used oil prior to recycling. FJN has requested a copy of those test results.

Terry Lee Shinn

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