Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in Kansas, have signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the PCE Former Dry Cleaner Superfund Site, in Atlantic. The ROD outlines the cleanup plan the Agency has chosen for the former dry cleaner site that has groundwater contaminated by tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The cleanup plan calls for operation of a Groundwater Extraction and Treatment System (GETS) that will remove contamination from the groundwater.

In addition to the GETS, the selected remedy also includes institutional controls (ICs), which consist of legal or administrative actions or requirements imposed on the property to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination or to protect the integrity of remediation. The ICs consist of a city ordinance prohibiting the installation of private drinking water and non-drinking water wells within city limits. The ICs will prevent the ingestion of contaminated groundwater. EPA will also conduct routine groundwater monitoring on a semi-annual basis to evaluate the performance of the GETS and measure the stability of the contaminant plume.

Officials say the objective of the selected remedy is to protect human health and the environment, while restoring the aquifer to beneficial use (i.e., drinking water use) by cleaning up groundwater below maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in a reasonable time frame. The cleanup levels are based on the Safe Drinking Water Act MCL of 5 micrograms per liter for both PCE and TCE. PCE is a nonflammable colorless liquid, used as a dry-cleaning agent and metal degreasing solvent. It is also used as a starting material (building block) for making other chemicals and is used in some consumer products.

TCE is a highly volatile compound that is nonflammable and is a breakdown product of PCE. It is a colorless liquid with a somewhat sweet odor. TCE is used mainly to degrease metal parts, but it is also an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids, and spot removers. The site was proposed for the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 2015 and was officially listed on the NPL in April 2016.

(Radio Iowa) – The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court has ordered a pause in jury trials as cases of COVID-19 are up. Jury trials were suspended in March after the pandemic started — and then began again in September after a couple of pilot trials to test coronavirus precautions recommended by a committee put together to study the issue. The Chief Justice now says jury trials will be on hold until at least February 1st. That is for any trial that has not sworn in a jury by November 16th.

The order also grants extended deadlines for prosecutors to bring cases to trial under Iowa’s speedy trial rules, and suspends all grand jury proceedings until February as well.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest vote count in Iowa’s second congressional district race shows Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa leading Democrat Rita Hart by 40 votes. Boards of supervisors in the 24 counties in Iowa’s second district met on Monday and Tuesday to conduct what’s called the official canvass of votes.

At 7:30 Tuesday night, Miller-Meeks issued a written statement, declaring the election over and saying she had won. Half an hour later, Hart’s campaign manager issued a written statement, saying the race remains too close call. Secretary of State Paul Pate will certify election results November 30. He’s notified Lucas County officials they may amend the county’s results if recounts on Thursday and Friday come up with different vote totals.

An attorney for Hart’s campaign has raised concerns that Lucas County’s error was discovered at the 11th hour and wound up putting Miller-Meeks in the lead. Both campaigns have until the end of the week to request recounts in certain counties or even specific precincts and that is likely. This is currently the closest congressional contest in the country.

(Radio Iowa) – More than three-thousand Iowa nursing home residents have Covid and there were nearly 12-hundred Covid patients in Iowa hospitals last (Tuesday) night. Hospital officials say this surge threatens to overwhelm the system. Governor Kim Reynolds warns rationed care is on the horizon if coronavirus cases continue to spike here.

“This situation has the potential to impact any Iowan who may need care for any reason, whether for Covid-19 or for any other serious medical condition,” she said, “and we don’t want anyone to be turned away from our hospitals.” The U.S. set a record overnight for the number of patients hospitalized due to Covid. Two percent of those patients were in Iowa hospitals, while the entire state accounts for a little less than one percent of the U.S. population.

“We can’t continue to see the number of individuals hospitalized,” Reynolds says. “It is about workforce and it’s about capacity.” The two week average in Iowa for deaths from Covid is at the highest point during the pandemic. On Tuesday, the state reported 44-hundred-28 Iowans had tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. That is 460 more than were reported in the entire state of New York yesterday. Reynolds is asking Iowans to spend as little time outside their homes as possible.

“As I said last week, these trends cannot continue,” Reynolds said, “and it’s critical that all Iowans do everything within their power to stop the spread of the virus now.” During a news conference on Tuesday, Reynolds asked to Iowans cancel or postpone parties and get-togethers and avoid situations where others are not following pandemic basics, like wearing a mask.

“We all have to buckle down and take this serious,” Reynolds said. “It spreads. It’s very contagious and so we all need to do our part.” In addition to a new public health proclamation that requires masks be worn in some group settings, Reynolds is now limiting the size of crowds at high school events, like band concerts, basketball games, wrestling matches. Each student participating will be allowed to have just two people in the crowd.

Reynolds has stopped short of a mask mandate for schools, however. About 60 percent of Iowa districts require masks inside schools.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Tuesday, announced “Due to increasing COVID cases in our area the police department will be restricting access to our facility spaces effective 11/11/2020. In addition, we will not be providing fingerprinting services. These restrictions will likely remain in effect until at least December 1st. No one will be admitted to the facility without a face covering”