County official flags floodplain signoff request and DEQ‑monitored diesel spill

A county mitigation officer told commissioners she had received a letter addressed to the Daniels County floodplain administrator asking the county to review and sign off on proposed city wastewater improvements, including a sprinkler/irrigation component. She said Great West Engineering prepared the plans but had not yet supplied full technical information; she plans to contact the engineer and will sign only if she is satisfied with the engineering review.

Separately, the officer reported an ongoing diesel contamination incident (described in the transcript as a diesel spill in a low‑lying drainage near the fairgrounds and other local features). She said the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is monitoring the site, that monitoring wells have been installed and that DEQ will provide the next formal update on Feb. 28. She described cleanup activities already undertaken and said DEQ had crews doing sampling and pumping; she also relayed a local estimate that replacing tanks and completing remediation could cost in the mid‑hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Commissioners discussed floodplain maps and the degree to which proposed work might affect floodplain boundaries; the mitigation officer said she had taken a required floodplain course and that maps (including cross‑border maps from Saskatchewan power for adjacent watershed areas) could be referenced. The board did not take a formal vote on the city plan during the meeting and directed staff to request clarifying materials from the city and the engineer before any signoff.