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Parsons Sun, March 23, 2012 photo by Colleen Surridge
Maj. Gen. Al Aycock paid a visit to the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant Thursday as part of a tour of Army bases impacted by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act. Aycock is the director of operations, Office of the Asisstant Chief of Staff for Installation Management (OACSIM), responsible for overseeing the development and coordination of program requirements, strategy and policies pertaining to facilties, military constructions, energy and BRAC properties that support Army objectivies and improves the quality of life for soldiers, civillians and families. Aycock began his visit in Parsons with lunch that included Don Dailey, KSAAP commander’s representative (far left); Dan Goddard, Great Plains Development Authority (GPDA); Ann Charles, GPDA deputy director; and other Army personnell. He was joined on his visit by Pentagon officials Tom Lederle and Hank Proctor, who are assisting in the transfer of KSAAP property to GPDA.
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Posted on March 23, 2012
By Colleen Surridge
Parsons Sun, March 9, 2012
The U.S. Army is nearing transfer of the remainder of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant property that falls within its footprint to the Great Plains Development Authority.
“We are in the final stages of shoring up the details with the Army,” GPDA chief executive director Dan Goddard said on Thursday.
As several anticipated transfer dates have come and gone, Goddard would only state that the transfer is “imminent — in the very near future.”
The GPDA board of directors learned about the imminent transfer of property during a Thursday meeting. The GPDA plans to incorporate the land into the Great Plains Industrial Park.
Although the GPDA signed a transfer agreement with the Army more than two years ago for the remaining 6,700 acres it was working to acquire for economic development, the transfer was delayed because negotiations between the Army and munitions manufacturer Day & Zimmermann for 4,000 acres on which the company is situated continued.
Until last month, the GPDA was still in limbo, awaiting D&Z to finish negotiations, because the actual transference of all the land had to coincide because of regulations involved in the two entities splitting the hazardous waste permit.
One part of the permit was for D&Z as owner/operator, with D&Z being responsible for environmental cleanup, not the Army. The other part was for the GPDA as owner, and the Army as operator of the 6,700 acres until the Army finishes cleanup, for which the Army is responsible according to its contract with GPDA.
As D&Z negotiations continue to drag on, the GPDA sought permission to split the hazardous waste permit, separating the GPDA from D&Z, so it could move forward with its land transfer, Goddard explained.
“We met with Army representatives at the last Association of Defense Communities Conference the end of February and worked out the details of the transfer and future explosive environmental remediation,” Goddard said. “Where we are now is, with our memorandum of agreement with the Army we have made last-minute changes based on the current situation, because there have been a few changes from a couple of years ago when we signed it.”
Once both sides’ legal departments OK the agreement, the transfer can be finalized.
“We’ll have a lot of papers to have to sign, and we will have to file a deed, but once it is ours we will move outward with our marketing and development of the industrial park,” Goddard said.
Once the transfer is complete, there will be a long process in getting the industrial plant flourishing.
“The biggest change is we will be able to say we own the property, which will give industries more confidence in the process,” Goddard said. “Before, we had to tell those interested that we don’t own the property, and we weren’t sure when we would, so they moved on into other locations because they couldn’t put their plans on hold.”
Anticipation of getting the ball rolling in creating jobs through creating investment opportunities in what will be one of the biggest industrial parks in the U.S. is growing because the GPDA is no longer hamstrung from being able to market property to industry.
“The minute the transfer takes place, there will be a 90-degree turn, and we will be very heavy into marketing of the property,” Goddard said.
Grass fires
Residents may have smelled smoke in the area of the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant March 1.
“The smoke was the result of a wildfire that came onto the plant from off plant,” Goddard said. “The wildfire burned about 350 to 400 acres of grassland and leaves. The Parsons Fire Department, Neosho Township, Oswego Fire Department and Mount Pleasant Department from Altamont all responded, with everything under control by Thursday (March 1) evening, but the smell of smoke continued for a couple of days because of a few smoldering, dead trees.”
To lesson the possibility of any similar incidents, Goddard said the GPDA has begun controlled burns on the plant.
“We did one on Monday where we burned another 350 to 400 acres to lessen the danger of wildfires,” he said. “We will be continuing the burns for several weeks, when the weather permits, because we have to wait until it is the right temperature, humidity and wind direction.
“So if people smell smoke coming from the plant in the next few weeks, we just wanted them to know it is probably because of the controlled burns.”
Posted on March 09, 2012
Parsons Sun, January 3, 2012
Brick by brick, chunk by chunk, a piece of Kansas Army Ammunition Plant history came down Monday.
Gator Demolition of Joplin, a subcontractor for Matrix Environmental Services, Denver, used an excavator to knock away walls, floors and roofing from the melt-pour tower of Building 905 in the 900 area, where TNT was melted and eventually poured into mortar shells in years past.
The building, too contaminated to clean up and reuse, was destroyed instead while the Great Plains Development Authority works to bring industry to the new Great Plains Industrial Park, according to Dan Goddard, GPDA executive director. Day & Zimmermann Inc., which manufactured munitions at the plant even after it was placed on an Army closure list in 2005, retains three melt-pour towers on what it hopes will be its portion of the industrial park.
The plant was listed on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list in May 2005 as part of the military’s downsizing. Day & Zimmermann, the long time contract munitions manufacturer at the plant, is negotiating with the Army to buy a 4,000 acre parcel to continue production.
At the time of the BRAC announcement, the plant contained 13,727 acres. The GPDA, which owns 600 acres on the grounds, was formed under Department of Defense guidelines to acquire the bulk of the property for a mega-site industrial park. The total property contains 33 miles of rail, 106 miles of road, its own water and wastewater operations and other amenities that make it ideal for industrial operations.
Since BRAC, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism purchased 3,000 acres, renaming the parcel Grand Osage Wildlife Area. Access there remains restricted as explosive remediation efforts are conducted on adjacent land. GPDA is in the final days of negotiations to purchase the remaining 6,100 acres. The 67,000 square-foot administration building will be sold separately.
TNT was used as an explosive in mortars and missiles produced at the plant for nearly 70 years under contract through the Department of Defense until final production ended in December 2009, Goddard said in a prepared statement. Flakes of the yellow-gold explosive were poured into melting kettles and became liquid at 176 degrees. Liquid TNT was poured into casings, where it cooled and became a solid again.
Boilers created the steam used to melt the TNT. The three-story melt-pour tower was not heated or air conditioned, so temperatures were never comfortable inside for the workers.
“It was a very, very hot operation,” Goddard said Monday. “It got pretty hot up in there.”
The air inside was humid from the steam and temperatures reached close to 100 degrees or higher in the summer time.
Escape slides had been removed from the higher windows in the tower, but a building nearby, called the shaker building, where TNT was screened for foreign material, still had an escape slide from a window.
According to historic data the maximum number of people working at the plant during one day was 7,358 during World War II. During the Vietnam War, nearly 4,000 people were employed and as recently as the Gulf War more than 1,300 drove in from as far as 70 miles away.
Day & Zimmermann still has about 90 employees doing work in a limited capacity as it rebuilds its operation as a private-bid company.
Remediation of the plant has been ongoing for nearly 20 years, Goddard said, however the BRAC announcement intensified those efforts.
GPDA was awarded an Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement by the Army for $4.8 million in 2010 that includes the current demolition project and others.
Posted on January 03, 2012
Parsons Sun, December 31, 2011
The Parsons Fire Department will continue offering protection to the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
The Parsons City Commission approved a contract during a Thursday work session to allow the fire department to continue offering firefighting services to the former plant.
The U.S. Army is in the process of transferring the property at the plant to the Great Plains Development Authority. The GPDA already has received ownership of some of the land that will be used to develop the Great Plains Industrial Park. While the transfer date for the rest of the property hasn’t been determined, the GPDA needs a plan to provide caretaker services for the Army.
The contract the commission approved is the same as one in effect for Day and Zimmermann Inc., the former contract-operator of the plant. D&Z is the caretaker of the plant property now, but that will change with the new year, so a contract with GPDA was needed.
Fire Chief Larry Steeby told commissioners he’s not sure if D&Z will renew its contract for fire protection for its property in the park. D&Z is in negotiations for the transfer of 4,000 acres in the park to continue production there.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism also owns 3,000 acres in the park in the new Grand Osage Wildlife Area. Steeby said KWPT will be covered by area township volunteer fire departments because KWPT does not have a budget for a fire contract with the city.
In the future, the GPDA will sign a contract for a caretaker of the park, Steeby said, and at that time the new caretaker could contract with the city for fire protection services or rely on the volunteer fire departments.
Under the terms of the city’s contract with GPDA, the fire department will be paid $500 per run to the park, with Neosho Township, Oswego and Altamont volunteer fire departments being paid $300 apiece if they assist.
Steeby said last year was the busiest of three years under the contract with D&Z. The department responded to four or five minor fires, including one small structure fire. The runs lasted just a couple of hours at a time.
Steeby explained that if the fire department gets a call for a fire at the park, the department responds if it has available personnel. If not, a volunteer fire department is called to respond. The fire department will have only three firefighters and one truck at a time respond to a fire at the former plant, leaving two other trucks and other firefighters available to fight fires in town. The department also can page or text off-duty firefighters to report for duty if further help is needed.
The entire plant property covers 13,727 acres.
Posted on December 31, 2011
By Ray Nolting
Parsons Sun, December 20, 2011
OSWEGO — The Labette County Sheriff’s Department will provide roving and stationary security for the Great Plains Industrial Park, formerly the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
Starting Jan. 1, the sheriff’s department will have someone posted at the gate for 52 hours a week for 30 days. The Great Plains Development Authority can renew this contract on a month-to-month basis.
The sheriff also will provide roving patrols of the plant grounds by deputies, equaling about 28 hours a week. This contract will be for six months, but it could be renewed.
The Labette County Commission on Monday approved the contract for law enforcement services on a 3-0 vote.
The county will be paid $25,291.22 for the six months of patrol work and the 30 days of staffing the main gate, but this amount would change if the county has to continue staffing the gate.
The U.S. Army has not yet transferred remaining acreage at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant to the GPDA, but that transfer is tentatively set for next week.
Sheriff Robert Sims said he is considering deputizing retired law enforcement officers to man the gate on a part-time basis. Regular deputies would provide the roving patrols.
Posted on December 20, 2011
September 20, 2011
OSWEGO — Labette County Commissioners on Monday accepted zoning rules for the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant land. The new regulations will be in effect for land that has already been transferred from the U.S. Army to the Great Plains Development Authority. The only exception is the land transferred to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, because the county can’t zone land owned by the state or federal governments, plus the wildlife land is mostly agricultural and used for hunting. The Labette County Planning Commission has already approved the regulations, and the county commission needed to act on them so they would fall into place when the remaining portion of U.S. Army land is transferred to the GPDA and Day and Zimmermann next month. County planners had already adopted a comprehensive plan for the Great Plains Industrial Park, and approving the zoning rules was required to get the park ready for the final land transfer.The former KSAAP takes up more than 13,000 acres and has been the site of ammunition production since World War II. Day and Zimmermann Inc. manufactures weapons there.
Posted on September 20, 2011
Parsons Sun, August 31, 2011
Cam Salyers has been hired by the Great Plains Development Authority as its environmental specialist. Salyers will be responsible for the long-term monitoring, compliance and recordkeeping required by environmental agencies at the Great Plains Industrial Park, formerly the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
In its acquisition of 6,700 acres of the property, GPDA will assume the long-term monitoring previously established on the grounds, as well as all anticipated monitoring required of the current and future remediation of production sites. As part of the transfer the Army will provide funding, in advance, for GPDA monitoring needs.
Matrix Environmental Services, Denver, provides environmental consultation for GPDA during its negotiations with the Army, and the company has the contract for the remediation of the 900 Area. Salyers’ employment with the authority ensures continuity between what is negotiated for monitoring and the execution and long-term compliance of those requirements, GPDA officials said.
Salyers is a native Parsonian, a graduate of Parsons High School, and holds a bachelor of arts in environmental studies from the University of Kansas.
Posted on August 31, 2011
Parsons Sun, August 30, 2011
The Labette County Commission agreed to rent a building at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant from Great Plains Development Authority to store salt and sand. Instead of rent the county will clear snow from Scott Road inside the plant grounds south into what will be Day and Zimmermann Inc. property and 23000 Road from Scott Road west to the plant entrance at 23000 and Rooks. Commissioner Brian Kinzie said this agreement will make county crews responsible for removing snow on about 2 ½ to three miles of road inside the industrial park. The building will require some work by the county to make sure the salt doesn’t damage the concrete.
Posted on August 30, 2011
by Vanessa Lee
Southeast Kansas Business Journal
The Great Plains Development Authority is currently in the process of acquiring the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant from the U. S. Army. It will be renamed the Great Plains Industrial Park. A multi-use facility, it contains approximately 13,700 acres. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks owns 3,000 of these acres known as the Grand Osage Wildlife area. Dan Zimmerman, the munitions manufacturer here will have 4,000 acres transferred to them and will continue to operate. The balance of the property will come to the Great Plains Development Authority and will be developed over time as a mixed use of an industrial and commercial park. They currently own 600 acres, but hopefully, by the end of this summer, after five years of intensive negotiations, the transfer of the remaining 6,100 acres will occur, giving them a total of 6,700 acres for development.
Currently, the GPDA is going through an environmental cleanup program. The Army is doing a lot of the work through the Corps of Engineers, but they have just started working with the Army and have a contract for explosive decontamination of munitions production facilities. They are working in partnership with Matrix Environmental Services, based out of Denver, who have their people on the plant to decontaminate the buildings that are closely contaminated. Those buildings will be completely torn down. The slabs will be removed and the soil remediated to make sure all the explosives are out of the footprint of the buildings. Dan Goddard, the Chief Executive Officer of the GPDA states, “We have an awful lot of property that is virgin territory. It has seen no use other than agriculture or wildlife since the 1940’s. And that’s because the Army needed to have a very large tract of ground to provide safety arcs in the event there was an explosion in one of the production facilities or in one of the munitions storage facilities to protect the people that live outside the plant boundaries.”
The Great Plains Industrial Park is in the process of being zoned for Labette County, which should be completed by the end of the summer. The property has been divided and there will be large single-owner tracts that will be attractive to industries who need them. There are also 33 miles of rail on the plant that are connected to the Union Pacific southbound mainline, which puts the park 90 miles away from the Port of Catoosa by rail and gives it access to not only the port, but all the waterways in the eastern United States and also the Gulf of Mexico for shipment of goods, making it an attraction to manufacturing and distribution facilities.
The park will have its own water system and sewage system. Westar Energy will be providing electricity and AT&T will provide telephone service. Farmers who currently lease land from the Army for cattle grazing, hay farming, soybean and corn farming will become the first source of revenue for the new industrial park. Operation of the water and sewage systems will be at a loss until they can generate revenues through use of the park.“We anticipate that once we do own the property that picture will change and that we will be able to start the development,” Dan Goddard says. “ We are under no illusions. Developing 6700 acres is huge. That puts approximately 50% of the large tracts of industrial property in the State of Kansas right here in Labette County. So it is very big.”
Goddard continues, “Development of the park really hinges on a couple of factors; one is proximity to transportation to get products to market or bring in raw materials. When you think of a project of this size and the relatively sparse population of Southeast Kansas rural communities, the most important factor and my biggest concern is the labor force — having employees that are trainable and ready to go to work. People ask me all the time how do you work with that kind of situation? I always tell them that it takes a real community. We want to see kids stay in school and graduate from high school. We want to see them acquire skills so that they can improve their position in life as we bring companies in. We aren’t interested in companies that are going to just pay minimum wage. We want companies that are going to pay a living wage. That will be good for us, and it will also be good for the development of community outside of the industrial park. Hopefully this will attract people here to build homes and become a permanent part of Southeast Kansas.”
Another bonus of the GDPA is the recreational area known as the Osage Wildlife Area. It contains 3,000 acres of undisturbed land since the 1940’s and a white-tail deer herd. Preserving the quality of the wildlife and the habitat are important. There will be guided hunts with bow and arrow and gun by lottery. With the lottery system, someone in Parsons or the surrounding area has the same opportunity as somebody from Michigan or Wisconsin or Florida to be able to hunt. Kansas is the number one state in the union for the opportunity to take a trophy buck. Last year there were two hunts in November with a high success rate among the hunters.
Base closures bring some fear and anxiety to any community, because of jobs lost and the transition of military families out of the area which affects the economy of the area. But in the end, the community becomes more prosperous with the use of the added facilities to bring fresh new business and industry to the area. What was once transitory becomes a home grown development that will have people who are born in the area, graduate from high school and go on to raise families and have careers in the same place. With this new industrial park, Southeast Kansas has the potential to become one of these places.
For more information about the GDPA contact Dan Goddard at 620-421-1228 or visit the Web site: www.greatplainsindustrialpark.com.
Posted on June 27, 2011
Parsons Sun, June 3, 2011
Story and photo by Jamie Willey
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Roberts refers to a coffee mug commemorating the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant's operation from 1941 to 2009 during a speech to the Parsons Rotary Club on Thursday. Roberts said he is disappointed that two years after the plant's closing most of the land there has yet to be transferred to the Great Plains Development Authority, which plans to open a large industrial park there.
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U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said on Thursday that he will continue working toward busting the logjam created by three agencies that has delayed the transition of land to the Great Plains Development Authority.
The senator made his remarks, and also ranted against the many regulations that slow down economic progress, during the Parsons Rotary Club meeting.
Roberts said although the U.S. Army closed the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant east of Parsons in 2009, the transfer of the bulk of the land to the GPDA has not been accomplished. The GPDA plans to use the land to develop the Great Plains Industrial Park.
Roberts said the transfer has been delayed because instead of working together, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Department of Defense have been adversaries in the issue of contamination cleanup at the former plant.
He said the GPDA and others involved in trying to get the remaining land at the plant transferred should have to deal only with the KDHE, which should help the GPDA in dealing with the EPA.
“I’m not quite sure what my office is going to do, but I have had it up to here,” Roberts said.
Roberts then went on what he called a rant about the many federal regulations that hold back progress in the U.S. He said the Small Business Administration has said that regulations cost the U.S. economy $1.75 trillion in 2008. There are even more regulators in Washington, D.C., now than there was then, and Roberts said they are not “twiddling their thumbs.”
Unnecessary regulations cost the U.S. many jobs and takes money away from people because businesses must pass along the cost of the regulations to consumers, Roberts said.
The senator said President Barak Obama has issued an executive order to look at all regulations and the ones being proposed and determine if the costs of the regulations outweigh their benefit. There are many loopholes in this order, though, Roberts said.
For example, the EPA has said it is exempt because its regulations are for the good of the public. Roberts said he would defy anyone to define the criteria in the executive order, which he said has unclear language.
Roberts said he has written legislation that removes all of the loopholes. He has 50 sponsors of the legislation and plans to get 10 more before attaching it to every bill that comes forward.
Roberts said he is not against clean air or clean water, but the EPA has gone too far.
The agency is bringing forward regulations that had been long forgotten because they weren’t viable. For example, in the 1970s, the EPA took issue with rural fugitive dust. When asked about it, an EPA official asked Roberts if he realizes how much dust is stirred up in the air in western Kansas. Roberts said he told the official that yes, there is a lot of dust there, but he asked if the EPA had any suggestions on how to control it instead of just issuing fines.
The EPA official said county trucks should spray rural roads with water twice a day.
When Roberts asked if there was any funding for trucks or a supply for that much water, the EPA official had no answer. The EPA at one time also tried to regulate what it called navigable waters in farm ponds, Roberts said, even though no one would want to swim in most farm ponds. The EPA is still bringing forward such regulations still today.
“It looks like to me they just pulled out the files from the 1970s and they’re back, except this time they don’t even realize how silly it is,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he hopes to break loose the jam of regulations holding up transfer of what he said overall is a postage stamp-size of land at the former plant. He and his office have worked closely with the GPDA, Roberts said, and will continue to do so. Roberts, who at times during his presentation seemed aggravated, said the best thing his staff can do is to keep him calm and see if they can solve the cleanup and regulation issue at the plant.
Also on Thursday, Roberts spoke about the tornado that devastated Joplin. He said his thoughts and prayers are with everyone there, and he said Parsons knows first-hand about the force Mother Nature can unleash following the tornado here in April 2000.
Roberts said he will be in Reading on Friday, another community that was hit by a recent tornado, to see how he can help.
In addressing a question about ethanol subsidies, Roberts said he does not like mandates, tariffs or subsidies, and the U.S. has all three with ethanol, yet Kansas is a big ethanol producer. There will be amendments dealing with ethanol on the Senate floor, and senators will have meaningful conversations about ethanol, Roberts said.
He said he doesn’t want to do anything to harm the ethanol industry in Kansas, but he also doesn’t want to negatively affect people raising livestock and growing feedstock. The use of corn to make ethanol drives up the price of the crop, making it more expensive to feed livestock.
“I don’t want to kill the ethanol industry, but I do think we can massage it a little,” Roberts said about ethanol subsidies.
Roberts also addressed a question from Labette Health CEO Jodi Schmidt about rural health care.
He said the rural health care delivery system is under threat, and the people in Congress representing rural communities must do what they can to save it. Roberts said he will do whatever he can.
Posted on June 03, 2011
Parsons Sun, May 18, 2011
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Matrix Environmental Services employees Steve Harsh and Terry Kiser (in hard hats) explain to Great Plains Development Authority board members how a blower skid will supply air to a burner a decontamination process. Matrix is in the process of a heat-decontamination of smaller buildings at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
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Posted on May 18, 2011
Parsons Sun, March 25, 2011
By Jamie Willey
Gov. Sam Brownback pledged his support in helping develop the Great Plains Industrial Park during a visit to Parsons on Thursday afternoon.
Brownback toured the industrial park that is the former site of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. He also toured the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center and Southeast Kansas Independent Living.
Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag said the governor planned the trip to Parsons about a month ago to see the industrial park and learn more about the Great Plains Development Authority’s vision for the park as well as the challenges it faces. He also wanted to tour PSHTC to meet with workers and residents there and to learn more about the research partnership between the hospital and the University of Kansas research center on the campus.
Brownback said he and others have been working to quicken the transfer of land from the U.S. Army to the GPDA so economic development efforts can begin in earnest. He said the holdup is an argument between the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency on environmental cleanup. Brownback said the transfer of land at the industrial park needs to move forward, and he is hopeful that it will soon.
Besides pushing for the transfer of land, Brownback said the state can help Great Plains Industrial Park develop to its full potential by having the Kansas Department of Commerce making it one of the prime targets of industries looking for a place to locate in the state. With its 33 miles of railroad track and other infrastructure, the park should be an attractive place for private businesses, Brownback said. He said the infrastructure in place will help him as he pitches the park to industries looking to locate or relocate to the region.
Brownback’s visit to PSHTC marked the first time he had been to the facility. He said after speaking to the research staff there, he was very impressed with the work being done. The staff is very dedicated, Brownback said, and the research being done there is significant on a national and international level.
“It’s a beautiful partnership,” Brownback said of the work of KU and PSHTC staff.
Speaking about the possible closure of Kansas Neurological Institute in Topeka, Brownback said it remains to be seen if it will happen. A commission recommended the closing of KNI, with some of its residents moving into the public and some moving to PSHTC, but Brownback said the Legislature will have to budget for the change.
Brownback said if the state moves toward closing KNI, it’s possible that PSHTC’s population would grow as a result. He said he met a number of residents at PSHTC on Thursday who came from Winfield State Hospital when that facility closed several years ago.
“There is a possibility that there would be some KNI residents who would move here,” Brownback said.
Much of Brownback’s first couple of months in office have been spent on budget issues. He said the state is facing a $490 million budget deficit next fiscal year, and he has proposed changes that would balance the budget. He thinks the budget will get balanced without raising taxes. Still, the state is facing more financial trouble in the years to come. That’s why Brownback has been investigating how the state can be run more efficiently.
Despite the budget shortfall and the challenges that it presents early in his term as governor, Brownback said he has enjoyed his new job so far.
“I love this job. This is a fabulous job,” Brownback said.
Posted on March 25, 2011
Parsons Sun, February 22, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 2008, the Kansas Army Ammunitions Plant near Parsons was closed by the Department of Defense. Since then, many local, private sector developers have lined up to develop the land and create jobs, but an EPA regulatory overreach and an ensuing bureaucratic turf war between the EPA and the Department of Defense has kept this land on the federal docket and out of the private sector’s reach, according to U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins’ office.
On Friday, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (a Kansas Republican) filed an amendment to H.R. 1, the FY11 Continuing Resolution being debated on the House floor last week. If passed, Jenkins’ amendment will restrict the EPA from using government funds to promote this regulatory overreach that is hampering economic growth and job creation in Labette County.
Jenkins released the following statement after filing her amendment:
“As I have said before, the first priority of this Congress must be to get government out of the way so the private sector can start hiring again. This situation in Parsons is the perfect example of an overzealous regulatory agency eliminating real jobs in rural America. The $100 billion of cuts in the Continuing Resolution offered by House Republicans this week is a first step toward achieving our goal, but we must also address the overbearing job destroying regulations promulgated by the executive branch. My amendment does just that by prohibiting the government funding of an EPA overreach that is hampering job growth in eastern Kansas,” Jenkins said.
“My colleagues in the Kansas delegation and I have asked numerous times for the EPA to cite where they have the authority to hold up this land transfer, and have received two responses telling us their official response will be forthcoming. It’s time to end the Washington run-around and create jobs in Kansas. To the EPA, Labette County is just another spot on a map and the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant is just another piece of paper, but this isn’t just a spot or a piece of paper. The people in Labette County are real people with real families and Washington bureaucrats need to stop exploiting them to prove a point. It is my hope that this amendment will pass, and the EPA will remove this barrier to job creation.”
Posted on February 22, 2011
Parsons Sun, November 10, 2010
By Colleen Surridge
Following many months of sampling and analysis, Matrix Environmental Services has begun the process of decontaminating the 900 line at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant.
Matrix was hired by the Great Plains Development Authority to oversee the project, pursuant to an environmental services agreement, which the GPDA was awarded by the Army for decontamination of the 900 Area. The original contract was for $4.3 million.
“Ever since June we’ve had eight people out here full time, sampling and getting ready to decontaminate. We started doing decon this last week,” said Peggy Llewellyn, Matrix senior project manager. “What we are doing is explosives decontamination.”
In the remaining 6,116 acres to be transferred from the U.S. Army to the Great Plains Development Authority, there are several old munitions production lines. Matrix will handle the assessment of the production lines and decontamination of the 900 line.
“There were five production lines that are going to be in the Great Plains Development Authority’s footprint. Each production line consisted of roughly 50 buildings,” Llewellyn said. “The first step is assessing the buildings. We collected about 6,000 samples from three of the production lines. We still need to do two.”
In testing, Llewellyn said Matrix is looking for five primary classes of explosives, which at the KSAAP involves about 10 to 20 different chemical compounds.
Some of the explosives are primary compounds used to set the charge in explosives and are extremely sensitive, while others are secondary compounds that provide the “big bangs with lots of power,” but are not as sensitive, she said.
The process of decontamination of buildings is fairly new, being developed following several incidents of explosions at facilities in the 1980s and 1990s. At the Grand Island facility in Nebraska, a worker cutting into a wall with a torch led to massive explosions.
Complete decontamination is necessary, even if the buildings will be razed.
What was discovered in inspecting other facilities, Llewellyn said, was that explosive dust was found to have accumulated in the duct work, piping and inside concrete walls. At one facility she worked on, she said workers opened up one of the concrete block walls that had a crack in it and found explosive dust mounding up inside the wall after years of accumulation. Facilities such as the KSAAP would often hose down the floors in production line buildings, which served their purposes well. However, she said, concrete is absorbent and therefore the floors of some of the buildings contain high amounts of explosives.
“In significant buildings, in terms of where they handled raw explosives, it can get into the cracks and crevices. These buildings were built much more sturdy, with 1 foot thick concrete walls on 1 to 4-foot thick concrete slabs,” she said. “They are very sturdy buildings with blast walls, so if during production, if there was an unintentional detonation it would prevent impact on other areas. They were designed for safety, so taking them down is tricky, because the buildings are so strong.”
“The process we go through when we start decontaminating is to characterize the waste.The floors have explosive residue, old paint chips in the dirt, animal droppings and any number of things. We collect samples of the matter and send it to the lab to determine how to handle it,” Llewellyn said.
“We start with floor sweeping, and send that off for disposal or incineration. We use specialized high volume explosive-proof vacuum cleaners, because we don’t want to set off any sparks or friction,” she said. “After that, we remove the pipes and the lighting in the buildings. Sometimes we have to go in and take out walls. Then we go in with high pressure washers and wash down the buildings using 5 to 20,000 psi (pressure per square inch) to wash them.”
“In smaller buildings we use thermal invection heating with hot gas that reaches temperatures of 400 degrees in the building, which thermally decomposes explosives without detonation.
“With larger buildings, it is not technically feasible to heat them to 400 degrees, so we use the high pressure washers,” Llewellyn said.
The processes used for decontamination interferes with structural stability of the buildings, because under use of high pressure washing, mortar crumbles, or sometimes they have to take out a wall. This means a loss of some of the most structurally sound buildings on the 900 line.
With the limited buildings, where little decontamination is needed, we don’t have to use the same level of treatment, so they can often be saved,” she said. “We can use a low pressure wash, maybe steam cleaning.”
Many of the materials, once decontaminated, can be recycled and used for other projects at the industrial park.
Matrix Environmental’s focus is on explosive cleanup, but when it comes into contact with other environmental issues, such as asbestos within buildings, workers must deal with those contaminants as well.
Llewellyn said such matters will mean Matrix subcontracting with local and area companies as bids complete the review process and are let.
The waste pulled from the buildings will be put into barrels to be hauled off by a waste management broker and another company will be subcontracted to manage asbestos abatement.
“Our goal is also to hire local contractors when we are able to,” she said. “We are putting out waste management bids now,” Llewellyn said.
“It will be spring probably before we are ready to start demo-ing buildings, which we will hire other contractors for,” she said. “From the time we hit the field, it is about an 18-month process. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Posted on November 10, 2010
Parsons Sun, September 11, 2010
Story and photo by Ray Nolting
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(From left) Kansas state Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, Labette County Commission Chairman Brian Kinzie, Secretary of Wildlife and Parks Mike Hayden and Parsons Economic Development Director Carolyn Kennett visit before a ceremony Friday to transfer land from the Army to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
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Friday marked a new chapter in Kansas wildlife conservation with the ceremonial transfer of about 2,000 acres of land to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Though the final paperwork was not complete for Friday’s ceremony, Wildlife and Parks officials were excited for the future public use of the 3,000-acre park, named the Grand Osage Wildlife Area. The KDWP already received about 1,000 acres of land for the wildlife area, and Friday’s transaction was for the remaining 2,000 acres.
The transfer paperwork is expected to be complete next week to make the transfer and purchase official.
The transfer is part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s process of decommissioning the 13,727-acre Kansas Army Ammunition Plant, authorized in 2005. Wildlife and Parks actually purchased the property, getting 75 percent of the money from a federal grant and the remaining portion from state user fees.
Wildlife and Parks Secretary Mike Hayden was keynote speaker Friday, but other state and local officials attended. Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, a Thayer Republican, and Sen. Stephen Morris, a Hugoton Republican, attended, as did Rep. Richard Proehl, a Parsons Republican.
Hayden, who formerly hosted a fishing tournament at Big Hill Lake while he served as the state’s 41st governor, is an outdoor enthusiast.
He said the Great Plains Development Authority, which will oversee the plant once all the land is transferred by the Army, has been a great group to work with. Wildlife and Parks has been walking through new territory with this process, and he called the working relationship a “great partnership.”
The 3,000 acres will need a lot of work to create an even better hunting and fishing Mecca. Hayden said hedge, cedar and locust trees eventually will be removed, brome and fescue will be switched to native grasses, and ponds will be restocked with daily creel limits set.
“So it will be gradual,” Hayden said of the changes at Grand Osage Wildlife Area. “But we’re dedicated to making it work.”
Four deer hunts are already planned for the area this year:
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The first takes place today and Sunday for youth from this region.
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The second occurs in two legs, Oct. 29 to Nov. 14 and Nov. 15-30. Forty archers won slots for this deer hunt and 20 will hunt in the first two-week segment and 20 in the final two weeks. There were 300 applicants for the 40 slots.
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Catch A Dream Hunt, which is planned for a youth suffering from a serious disease in December during rifle season.
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A wounded warrior hunt is set for December as well, for wounded veterans.
Jim Zaleski, Labette County tourism director, said these hunts will bring people from across the United States. Hunters are expected from Florida, Michigan and Texas.
“So we are looking for at least some impact from that,” he said.
Rob Riggin, who manages the Mined Land Area for Wildlife and Parks, will manage Grand Osage until the department budget allows for staffing at the wildlife area. Future hunts on the land will be by a lottery method.
Wildlife officials hoped to have the area ready for a spring turkey hunt and perhaps some of the 12 ponds in Grand Osage open for fishing after that. Many plans are still being developed.
“Just a lot of unknowns,” Riggin said.
Security remains at the plant, an issue that will need to be worked out before plans progress too far for extensive hunting and fishing.
Riggin said KDWP is working with the Great Plains Development Authority on an agreement to manage the entire plant grounds for wildlife conservation.
Sean Lynott, a fisheries biologist for Wildlife and Parks, will survey the ponds at Grand Osage and make recommendations for stocking, creel limits and weight and length limits for the fish.
“It’s the beginning,” he said.
Lance Hedges, public lands supervisor for Wildlife and Parks, toured the wildlife area with media after Friday’s ceremony.
He said the crop and pasture leases will be honored and farmers will be able to bid on the farmland and cattle pastures once the leases expire. Soybeans grew in many fields Friday; corn had been harvested and hay baled.
Hedges said there are no buildings on the Wildlife and Parks land, and only a few roads.
Building 52, which was Fire Station No. 1 at the intersection of Road D and Road 2 on GPDA land, will be used for a Grand Osage Wildlife Area park office.
Lots of work is needed to manage the area, things that Hayden touched on earlier.
“This is unlike anything we’ve ever done,” Hedges said.
Posted on September 11, 2010
Joplin Globe, September 7, 2010
Southeast Kansas hunters will soon get another 3,000 acres of public land to hunt turkeys and whitetail deer.
On Friday, the Great Plains Development Authority in Labette County will turn over 2,000 acres of the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. That land, along with 1,000 acres the KDWP already has acquired nearby, will create one of the larger tracts of state-owned public hunting land in Kansas.
The Great Plains Development Authority is a board of nine members appointed by the county commission as the primary point of contact with the U.S. Department of Defense as it shuts down the ammunition plant.
Work ceased at the plant in 2008 with several hundred employees, but during World War II as many as 7,000 people worked there, according to Dan Goddard, chief executive officer of the development authority.
He said the development authority is actually taking possession of 8,700 acres, and, after giving 2,000 acres to the state, will use the remaining land for mixed-use industrial development.
Posted on September 09, 2010
Labette Avenue, September 1, 2010
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks secretary, Mike Hayden, will be in Parsons next Friday, Sept. 10, for a deed-signing ceremony with the Great Plains Development Authority (GPDA).
The event will mark the transfer of 2,000 acres of unique Kansas habitat to the department. This acquisition was part of the now closed Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. KDWP previously acquired another 1,000 acres of the property directly from the U.S. Army.
The 13,727-acre ammunition plant was established in 1941 as part of the WWII support effort and remained in production through Dec. 2008. It was listed on the Congressional Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list in 2005, and its mission has been relocated to other facilities. The GPDA is a quasi-municipal corporation focused on acquisition of large tracts of industrial property for multi-purpose development.
Tracts acquired by KDWP are part of the thousands of acres that were outside the former production areas, and which served as safety buffer zones. With limited access, exceptional populations of white-tailed deer and turkey have developed. In 2009, Outdoor Life magazine named the area the No. 7 best for white-tailed deer hunting in the U.S.
Hayden commented on the project, “It is truly remarkable to turn this past war machine property to peace time use. It’s especially rewarding to see it being restored to public land and wildlife habitat with great hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities.”
Mike Hayden served as governor of Kansas from 1987 to 1991.
Posted on September 01, 2010
Parsons Sun, August 11, 2010
Military base growth expectedly causes a proportionate growth in the surrounding communities as the influx of soldiers, families and civilian employees seek to minimize commuting and service operation distances.
Unfortunately, that community expansion can severely and negatively impact the very military operation that provides the opportunities.
A process to help address such conflicts resulted in the Great Plains Development Authority being recognized for its willingness to participate in the first-ever partnership with the U.S. Army in the Army Compatible Use Buffer Exchange (ACUB-X).
Dan Goddard, GPDA’s CEO, was recognized Monday at the Association of Defense Communities’ annual conference in San Francisco by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Joseph Calcara for the authority’s willingness to participate in the exchange. Calcara applauded the community’s cooperation in ensuring mission critical operations for the department elsewhere in the state.
The challenge at most growing military bases is that as the community builds closer to the fence line, the military is forced to withdraw further inside its boundaries to mitigate undesirable side effects of its operation, such as sound problems. Specifically at Fort Riley, a state of the art digital radar system could be limited by growth too close to the base.
With conservation easements purchased on nearby rural property, the Army can ensure that development will not occur within the easement area.
Calcara noted that the Kansas project provided for 1,000 acres of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant to be sold directly to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks for $1 million. That amount, which was 75 percent federal grant money and 25 percent state user fees, became matching funds for a conservation easement grant of $1 million. The resulting $2 million, in turn, allowed the Army to secure 6,800 acres of buffer zone around Fort Riley.
A conservation easement is a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land trust for the purposes of conservation. It restricts real estate development, commercial and industrial uses and certain other activities on a property to a mutually agreed upon level. The property remains the private property of the landowner.
At Fort Riley, the property placed in land trust is native tallgrass. At the KAAP, the property purchased is habitat that provides shelter for wildlife unique to Kansas and lies adjacent to 2,000 acres already being sold by the GPDA to KDWP. The ACUB-X program will allow for the preservation of nearly 8,000 acres in Kansas.
“The Parsons community, located in southeastern Kansas, was hit hard by the closure of the ammunition plant with BRAC 2005,” Calcara said. “However, they were the very first Army community to come forward and seek redevelopment opportunities rather than fight the decision to close the plant. This community went on to become the first BRAC 2005 community to receive approval of a below-fair-market-value conveyance.
“This agreement with the Parsons community provides a substantial financial and enduring operational benefit to the Army and Fort Riley, and I take great pleasure in recognizing the Great Plains Development Authority and Parsons, Kansas, here today as pioneers since they are the first community to partner with the Army, state and federal agencies in a very complex process to employ the ACUB program.”
Calcara added that the local cooperation with the Army accelerated the BRAC disposal at KSAAP and that the local support in building a pilot process for the Army provides for a project that can now be replicated at other locations.
“The results of Mr. Goddard’s actions at the KSAAP in Parsons will not only emanate throughout the state of Kansas, but in other states and throughout the U.S. Army to protect installations that provide the necessary capabilities for soldier readiness.”
Goddard responded, “The Great Plains Development Authority recognized that participating in the ACUB exchange program was the right thing to do. The authority members recognized the value of the ACUB program, and their willingness to work with the Army led directly to the preservation of nearly 8,000 acres of sensitive and unique habitat and helped Fort Riley prepare for its expanded mission.”
The ADC is a 1,200-member national organization designed to assist BRAC communities that are closing, growing or being realigned throughout the U.S. Association dues and travel expenses are funded by the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment.
At the conference, Goddard and GPDA deputy director Ann Charles also presented a program entitled “Detangling Infrastructure” to help other BRAC closure bases trying to meld military utilities into non-military operations.
Others attending the conference included board chairman Bob Wood, vice chairman Dan Peterson and Labette County Commissioner Brian Kinzie.
Charles was elected to the board of directors for the ADC while at the conference.
The ADC unites the diverse interests of communities, state governments, the private sector and the military on issues of base closure and realignment, community military partnerships, defense real estate, mission growth, mission sustainment, military privatization and base redevelopment.
The board has 13 members who serve three-year terms.
Goddard, previously served in the same capacity, having been elected prior to arriving in Parsons while employed as CEO of the redevelopment authority for the Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana.
Posted on August 11, 2010
Parsons Sun, August 5, 2010
Larry Hastings, property manager for Great Plains Development Authority, recently attended the Water and Wastewater Operators School at the University of Kansas, sponsored by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the University of Kansas. Federal and state laws require all water and wastewater facilities be under the direct supervision of a certified operator who has met certain educational requirements and passed a written exam administered by KDHE. To maintain certification Operators are required to obtain a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education during each two year renewal period for each certification held. Training includes updates on State and Federal regulations, safety, math, chemistry, biology, operations and maintenance, treatment and disinfection techniques and facility management.
Along with other duties Hastings will provide management oversight of the water and waste water operations at the Great Plains Industrial Park once that portion of the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant transfers from the U.S. Army to the local community.
Posted on August 05, 2010
Parsons Sun, August 5, 2010
by Colleen Surridge
The Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks is one step closer to ownership of property that will serve as a 3,000-acre nature reserve.
KDWP representatives met with the Great Plains Development Authority (GPDA) board Tuesday morning to sign a real estate purchase agreement. The U.S. Army transferred 2,600 acres of the 13,727-acre Kansas Army Ammunition Plant property to the GPDA in February. It was the first completed property transaction from among the 150 U.S. military installation recommended for closure by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Of the 2,600 acres transferred to the GPDA, about 2,015 of those acres were to be transferred to the KDWP in the future, GPDA executive director Dan Goddard said.
Securing the land, purchase option funding toward the property was given by the KDWP to the GPDA in advance of the actual transfer. The KDWP issued a check to Labette County for $750,000, which was in turn sent to the Kansas Department of Commerce to satisfy the terms for the grant for the Scott Road project, so no local tax dollars would used to enhance the road and entries to the property.
The sole purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was to sign the purchase agreement, which once executed, “must be placed in the Kansas Registrars Office for 30 days prior to any sale taking place,” Goddard said. “The reason we are doing this now is to prepare for the actual transfer of the property in September.”
In addition to the 2,015 acres the GPDA is transferring, the Army is transferring 1,000 acres directly to the KDWP through the Army Compatibility Use Boundary (ACUB) program. Funds from that sale of property to the KDWP are to be used to reduce encroachment around Fort Riley.
Though located on the former KAAP, the land the KDWP is receiving is uncontaminated and will become a protected natural resource.
The 3,000 acres is considered by KDWP as some of the best wildlife habitat around.
Labette Creek, fed by several streams, winds through part of the area, and the acreage’s forest habitat consists of pristine woodlands.
In 2009, that area of land was considered to be the seventh best white tail deer hunting area in the U.S. by Outdoor Life magazine. There are also three archeological sites included in the 2,000 acres, which will be transferred to the KDWP.
“Our goal is to protect that habitat and allow the public to benefit from it,” KDWP wildlife manager Rob Riggin said.
Conservation being the primary goal of the KDWP, it plans to allow controlled public access for hunting, fishing, bird watching, berry picking and mushroom hunting. Limiting access
will help to prevent the depletion of resources or destruction of them from overuse and allow all those interested in enjoying the area to have access for their various outdoor interests.
Goddard said the decontamination efforts continue on a portion of the Phase II parcel of land, consisting of 6,116 acres on which the GPDA signed an agreement with the Army. Goddard said some assessments are still being completed in some areas. Day & Zimmermann, the contract operator of the plant, is in the process of decontaminating loose equipment and removing it, so Matrix can then decontaminate the buildings.
D&Z is still in the negotiations process with the Army in regard to the transfer of approximately 4,000 acres to the company, Goddard said.
Posted on August 05, 2010
Southeast Kansas legislators toured the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant (KSAAP), Parsons, Wednesday, and got an inside look at how the 2005 Congressional Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) is challenging the entire area. Sen. Bob Marshall (left), Ft. Scott, and Rep. Bill Otto, Leroy, are joined by the Great Plains Development Authority’s (GPDA) CEO Dan Goddard and past chairman James McCarty, while they get a briefing on the history of the plant. A tour of the 14,000-acre facility followed. With a salary base nearly double that of most Southeast Kansas counties’, the plant attracted employees from a 70 miles radius and its closure has created an economic impact throughout the SEK area. (printed in Parsons Sun, July 30, 2010)
Posted on July 30, 2010
Parsons Sun, June 29, 2010
The hunt is on.
For years, the Army has conducted deer hunts at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. People from all over the country have applied for these special hunts, said Great Plains Development Authority CEO Dan Goddard. Now that property is transferring out of Army ownership, many hunters are wondering what the opportunity for hunting is.
“The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), the Army, Day & Zimmermann, and the Great Plains Development Authority (GPDA) are all cooperating to plan several special whitetail deer hunts in 2010. And, the best part is the hunts will take place even if ownership of property transfers between now and the hunting dates,” Goddard said.
“As of now, there are five special hunts scheduled. The first two are scheduled for September and are youth/disabled person hunts. At the end of October through November, there will be two archery only hunts. And finally, in December, a wounded warrior/catch a dream hunt will be held,” he said. “These hunts will provide nearly twice the opportunity for applicants to have their names drawn compared to recent years.”
For any hunter interested in applying for one of these hunts, details and the application process will be posted on the KDWP Website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.
“There are deadlines for applying, so keep checking the KDWP Website for details. The draw will be conducted by KDWP and fees, in addition to license fees, will apply. Again, keep checking the KDWP Website.
“I am sure hunters will ask ‘What about the future?’” Goddard said. “I wish I had a crystal ball, but this is what I can envision. The KDWP and the GPDA are interested in three primary things relating to hunting on the Great Plains Industrial Park. First of all, safety (dictates) types of hunting weapons allowed, depending on the season. Additionally, the density of hunters and their proximity to industrial facilities and buildings will be closely monitored. Secondly, the unique habitat and wildlife quality is something we want to preserve for future generations. Finally, the goal is to provide as many hunters as possible the opportunity to hunt consistent with safety and preservation of the quality hunting environment.
“Beyond the hunting opportunity, there will be other things to do in the future. Although the guidelines in the KDWP area have not been finalized, there will be numerous activities available to the public as entry restrictions are slowly eased. The KDWP area will need to be clearly marked so people don’t wander into areas that are either private or present a hazard. The GPDA will restrict access to a large portion of its acreage while environmental and explosive decontamination is being conducted,” Goddard said. “However, the KDWP and the GPDA are laying the ground work for quality outdoor experiences for residents of the community and for people visiting Labette County.”
Posted on June 29, 2010
Labette Health Board of Trustees President Vincent Schibi (left) on Thursday morning received the Kansas Business Appreciation Month Merit Award, issued by the Kansas Department of Commerce, from Ann Charles and Dan Goddard of Great Plains Development Authority. Two other Labette County businesses received the honor: Dayton Superior and KLKC Radio.
Posted on June 18, 2010
Parsons Sun, May 25, 2010
By Ray Nolting
OSWEGO — The Scott Road improvement project, a newly paved road that will serve as an entryway to the Great Plains Industrial Park, is nearly done.
“(It) looks really good,” Ann Charles, Great Plains Development Authority deputy director, told Labette County commissioners on Monday.
Some work is still needed, and commissioners agreed to spend $22,000 from grant funds for moving concrete barricades, adding signs and other work. Weeds and brush along the road will be cleaned out in preparation for a June 3 visit of Kansas lawmakers and other state agency officials. About 50 people are expected for the tour, hosted by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Charles said this will be a critical visit for the industrial park because it will be the first chance some lawmakers have had to see what is going on at the plant and its possibilities for the future.
The Scott Road project is funded by a $750,000 grant through the Kansas Department of Commerce. The road has 12-foot lanes and 8-foot turf shoulders.
Posted on May 25, 2010
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Posted on May 12, 2010
Parsons Sun, May 8, 2010
By Colleen Surridge
Thanks to the foresight of local citizens to create the Local Redevelopment Planning Authority (LRPA) and the Great Plains Development Authority (GPDA), land occupied by the government to make munitions will soon serve a dual purpose for the benefit of local residents.
Acquisition of the Kansas State Army Ammunition Plant's (KSAAP)
13,727 acres by the GPDA will provide not only land for growth of the Great Plains Industrial Park, providing space for business and industry placement allowing for expanded economic development in Southeast Kansas, but a natural resource in the form of a 3,000-acre nature reserve under ownership of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP).
Wildlife manager Rob Riggin said he believes KDWP is closer to receive the 3,000 acres of property from the U.S. Army, which will then become a protected natural resource.
Within the area, Riggin said, "There is some of the best wildlife habitat around. Labette Creek runs through part of the area, and there are several streams that run into it. There is wooded forest habitat that consists of pristine woodlands. Our goal is to protect that habitat and allow the public to benefit from it."
Conservation of the wildlife, flora and fauna in the area will be the primary goal of the KDWP, while also allowing the public access for hunting, fishing, bird watching, berry picking and mushroom hunting as it does in other preserved nature areas.
"I just talked to the Audubon Society last night about it. They are excited to come on and take an inventory of the birds there," Riggin said.
Conservation of such assets means limiting access to prevent the depletion of resources or destruction of them from overuse and to allow all those interested in enjoying the area to have access for their various outdoor interests.
"My goal would be to have a portion of the area open to giving the public a place they can go in and out of, but the majority of the property would be limited access through permit only or special permission to help protect the resources for the future," Riggin said. "Limited access means only allowing a certain number of people in at certain times of the year."
Riggin said they can't very well allow people to be in the area mushroom hunting during deer hunting season because of the dangers it would pose, so they have to coordinate activities according to season.
"We do want to make it a place everyone can enjoy though," he said.
It is known by many that throughout the plant grounds are some of the biggest bucks in the state.
With such knowledge existing among hunters, Riggin said to simply open up the area to the public would draw a massive number of hunters, quickly depleting that resource.
For that reason, he said, the KDWP will limit access and also continue to maintain a draw hunting system for a while at least, and perhaps in perpetuity.
While there was some consideration in prior years of there being opportunity for the KDWP to build a lodge on the property, or the GPDA to build a lodge just outside the nature area on its property where visitors could stay, Riggins said there are no other plans to alter the land, such as adding nature paths.
"But that is just me talking. That is what I want to see for the area. A lodge could be something the KDWP considers in the future, but I would like to try to keep the area as natural as possible so we are not planning on putting in any paths. If folks want to see it they can go in on foot,"
Riggin said. "We don't want to go in there with anything disrupting the natural habitat."
Riggin said the KDWP will have a meeting at the site this month to allow area staff to tour the property.
"We think we are getting close to the acquisition of the property, so we would like to introduce our employees to it from the area, especially those who will be working directly with it," Riggin said.
There is also a legislative tour coming up soon, where area legislators will learn about the KDWP's plans for the property and learn about the natural assets it boasts.
In addition, Riggin said there is a group that will be coming from Lawrence to conduct a biological survey of the land. The Kansas Biological Survey is a non-regulatory agency of the state of Kansas, and a non-degree granting research and service unit of the University of Kansas, recognized nationally in several fields of environmental research. The KBS mission is to gather information on the kinds, distribution and abundance of plants and animals in Kansas and to compile, analyze, interpret and distribute this information.
The Army has granted permission for these special visits, but since the land has not yet been transferred to the KDWP, entry remains restricted by the Army.
Even once the transfer takes place, public access to the area could remain restricted for some time.
Riggin said access to the KDWP reserve area is through the land to be transferred to the GPDA later this year.
"The Army is soon going to be cleaning up sites, working on decontamination, so I'm not certain of access in the future, as to when and where it will be allowed, and how it will affect us and access to our area," Riggin said.
There is no contamination on the 3,000 acres that for decades served as buffer between the ammunition plant and surrounding residential and farm land to prevent people from moving too close to the hazardous area, but other contaminated and secured areas at the former plant could prevent public access for a while.
These are precautions the Army must take, so Riggin asks the public to respect the security measures.
The only areas that access will remain open during those times, is the privately leased land.
"We will continue to allow grazing and farming in our area, even once the property is transferred, and so will the GPDA," he said. "There are several hundred acres of grass that is being grazed or baled, and it will remain that way. Sometimes folks would get upset when they would hear the KDWP was acquiring some of the land, but we realize that farming is an asset to wildlife, too, and it has a lot of benefits to both sides to allow it to continue."
Although there may be delays for the public to be permitted into the area, Riggin said they are very much looking forward to the day the public can enjoy this natural asset to the area.
"It's a very beautiful place. ... Hats off to the Great Plains Development Authority, and before that the Local Redevelopment Planning Authority. These groups had the foresight to look at this project with the best interest of the community in mind, to set aside a piece of the property to protect it and save the woodland and forest for future generations, and to recognize the potential for economic development too. It's great that they saw the potential for both assets for the community."
Posted on May 08, 2010
Parsons Sun, May 1, 2010
By Jamie Willey
It’s been five years since the announcement that the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant would close, and a development authority will have to wait at least a few more months before it gains control of the land.
Dan Goddard, Great Plains Development Authority executive director, met with Parsons city commissioners Thursday for an update on development of the future Great Plains Industrial Park.
The U.S. Army has transferred 2,600 acres to the GPDA, but transfer of the vast majority of the land at the plant east of Parsons is being held up in a “contest” between the Army, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency, Goddard said.
The land already transferred was handed over to the GPDA as clean property, but concerns remain over the cleanup involved for the rest of the land, which may have asbestos, lead-based paint and pesticide contamination. Goddard said when the GPDA makes progress on obtaining the land, something else sets it back. The latest projected date for transfer of the land is now August. The GPDA can begin explosive-decontamination of the property as soon as the issues between the Army, KDHE and EPA are settled.
The GPDA’s May 13 meeting will mark five years to the day that the announcement was made that the plant would close as a U.S. Department of Defense facility, Goddard said, but still the GPDA is progressing quickly. The small land transfer was the first of its kind in the round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission closings. No land on other facilities has been transferred.
While the delays are frustrating, Goddard said the GPDA wants to ensure it works closely with KDHE and the EPA for a long time and if required to do anything, the GPDA will see to it that it is done to protect itself.
Although land in the park can’t be zoned until GPDA owns it, the organization has created a proposed zoning overlay for the property. The zoning calls for lighter industry in the north and northeast parts of the park, with heavier industry to the south. There are three suggested levels of industrial zoning.
Part of the property would be zoned as an energy park, Goddard said, for use by wind energy or biofuels firms. One wind energy company has shown interest in locating at the plant and would like to install two or three test towers in the park. Although this area of Kansas isn’t as windy as the western part, the air density here may be high enough to make up for a lack of a lot of strong wind.
Day and Zimmermann Inc., the contract-operator of the plant, will get some of the land it now uses. The company hopes to get Department of Defense contracts to continue munitions manufacturing while eventually diversifying into other products, Goddard said. He said it’s a “pretty good bet” that the company will be able to continue operating at the park long-term.
The proposed zoning also includes a small residential area on the northwest edge of the plant.
The Labette County Commission will have to pass a resolution to create a five-member planning commission and a three-member appeals board. The planning commission will study the proposed zoning and give its recommendation to the county commissioners, who will approve a final zoning plan. The county also will have to hire or appoint a zoning administrator for the park.
Goddard said the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will get possession of its land in the park “fairly soon,” however he doesn’t know when the public will have access to that land.
“I couldn’t really tell you exactly when that’s going to occur,” Goddard said.
The Army’s administration building will be marketed nationwide and probably sold this summer or fall under sealed bid. Goddard said he anticipates whoever buys the building would put it to use for business, generate jobs and put the building on the county’s tax roll.
The park will retain the plant’s controlled access, and other gates may be added during the decontamination process to keep the public safe. The park also will have roving patrols, Goddard said. Eventually, though, the roads within the park will be turned over to the county, at which time they will become public access roads with no restrictions.
Posted on May 01, 2010
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