Cass County buyout woes
Cass County homeowners are frustrated with the process for buying out flood-damaged homes.
County engineer Keith Berndt said only 10 of the 107 insured homes on the county's application list qualify so far.
The county is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to increase that number.
Resident Craig Strehlow said county officials have not given homeowners clear information. His house had more than a foot of water on its main floor this spring.
ADVERTISEMENT
The county has hired a consultant to try to get more homes eligible for buyouts.
Repairs for dam's damage
A flood-damaged dam on a tributary of Swan Creek just north of Absaraka in western Cass County will get some repairs.
Erosion on the earthen spillway cut a hole 10 feet deep. It prompted 24-hour monitoring by the National Guard, and required emergency repairs.
Chad Engels, an engineer for the Maple River Water Resource District, said the permanent fix will cost about $75,000. The federal government will pay about 75 percent of the cost.
Wells clean up diesel spill
Seven slanted wells are planned under Mandan's Main Street this summer as the work continues to clean up a diesel spill.
City administrator Jim Neubauer said the intake wells will be placed sometime after July 4. He said bids are being taken on the project.
ADVERTISEMENT
The slanted wells are considered less disruptive to traffic than vertical wells. Neubauer said it's better than tearing up the street.
The spill under the city was discovered in 1984, and some estimate it may have totaled 4 million gallons.
Associated Press
Study finds enough volunteers
State health officials said enough volunteers have signed up to study the health effects of an asbestos-like mineral used widely on roads in western North Dakota.
Terry O'Clair, who heads the air quality division for the state Health Department, said 33 people signed up by Friday's deadline for the study to find out if they have been harmed by long-term exposure to erionite. The mineral, which can collect in the lungs of people who breathe it, has been linked to cancer in lab rats.
State health officials and the Environmental Protection Agency had hoped for at least 50 test subjects to get chest X-rays and CT scans that will be sent to researchers at the University of Cincinnati.
In Turkey, erionite was linked to mesothelioma, an incurable form of lung cancer.
