City Of Fairbury Seeks Public Input For Newly Acquired Property

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury held a public forum Monday, January 12, 2026, to discuss redevelopment plans for recently acquired land that was once the site of Fairbury Iron and Metal. The land at 200 C Street is to known to be contaminated with heavy metals and the city is working to obtain grants to clean up the area. After the cleanup, the city plans to develop the area as a park space. The proposed future use of the site includes expansion of Mill Dam Park to include additional open space, trail connections, park amenities and improved access to the Little Blue River.Fairbury Iron and Metal (FI&M) has been in operation at its current location since 1951. The city recently acquired the property along with a former Rock Island Railroad right-of-way that split the site. State of Nebraska Brownfields funding has been used to study soil and groundwater contamination at the site, revealing elevated levels of metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Two preliminary concept plans currently being vetted by the city, public, and other stakeholders. Development of the site will require mitigation of soil impacts to prevent exposure to contaminants in soil or groundwater by park visitors and construction workers and to minimize or avoid pollutant runoff from the site to the Little Blue River. The primary risks associated with the planned redevelopment are potential direct contact with soil and groundwater beneath the site and vapor intrusion into potentially occupied structures.The city is working on obtaining US brownfield grants from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to fund the cleanup. Grant applications are due January 28, 2026, with award notifications anticipated in June of 2026. The proximity of the site to Mill Dam Park is significant because, as pointed out in the city’s grant application, “While a historic gem and potential cornerstone tourist attraction, access and aesthetics of the park are severely threatened by the adjoining FI&M Site, inhibiting broader and safer recreational use of the area.”Frank Uhlarik, Senior Project Manager for Stantec Consulting Services Inc, gave a presentation at the forum. He said, “You can apply for up to $4 million in this cycle. Who knows what's going to happen in fiscal year 27. The (Trump) administration has signaled cuts in all EPA programs, but Brownfields, thankfully has had bipartisan support for a long time.” Uhlarik noted that the site is in the floodplain, which limits development options, “Not a whole lot you can do other than have a nice open space and park. And the EPA recognizes that. There's a lot of old, industrial contaminated properties were in the floodplain, so that's oftentimes what we see with a lot of the cleanup grants.” As part of the investigation into the site, 28 borings were drilled to check for groundwater contamination. Uhlarik said, “And the good news for everybody involved here is that groundwater contamination, at least along the perimeter of the site, was very limited, if not nonexistent. I think there's a trace of a chlorinated solvent that was actually below action levels, but it was detected here up in the northwest corner of the site.” However, there is still some contamination at the site that will have to be dealt with.“The groundwater, amazingly enough considering all the activities here through the years, is pretty clean. Now, that being said, I think there's probably some contamination in this area up here where a lot of the drums were stored, and there's some visible staining and leakage and so forth,” said Uhlarik. “We've got heavy metals and lead. Seems arsenic is the most prevalent but, in many cases, that's naturally occurring. Now, we don't see arsenic necessarily at toxic levels, but they are above the state standard.” The report prepared by Stantec notes three options for clean-up of the site, “1) No action (which doesn't achieve project objectives), 2) Complete removal of all impacted soil and backfill to grade (very costly but allows for unrestricted use) and 3) Removal of the most highly contaminated soils and capping with a clay layer to prevent contact with underlying soils. This option will require a long-term deed restriction but appears at this point to be the most cost effective.”Cost of option 2, the complete clean-up, is estimated at approximately $2,769,233.50. Option 3, according to Uhlarik, “is roughly a million-and-a-half, a million-and-three-quarters,” and is, “probably the most cost effective moving forward.” Input from the public is requested on both the method of cleanup and future park amenities to be considered. Contact Laura Bedlan with the City of Fairbury at 402-729-5261, ext. 2, or email lbedland@fairburyne.org, or Frank Uhlarik with Stantec at 402-669-0546 or email frank.uhlarik@stantec.com.

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