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Sedgwick County OKs $125,000 Match for State Testing of Contaminated Plume Near 29th and Grove
Summary
The Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners authorized $125,000 in matching funds to secure state environmental testing money aimed at health screening in the 29th and Grove plume area. Commissioners pressed state data quality and sought longer‑term implementation safeguards.
The Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 5 to authorize $125,000 in local matching funds to secure additional state testing dollars under a memorandum of agreement with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). County Manager Tom Stultz said the MOA would bring $1.5 million in state funds and unlock up to $1.0 million more contingent on a dollar‑for‑dollar local match; the county’s $125,000 would add to local commitments that include $500,000 from the Kansas Health Foundation and $125,000 from the City of Wichita.
"The expenditure of these funds would be contingent on the county entering into an agreement with a third party to act as the county's contractor in administering the environmental at‑risk testing," Tom Stultz said. Commissioners framed the vote as a targeted response to a proviso and MOA aimed at the plume surrounding 29th and Grove while emphasizing broader countywide contamination concerns. Chairman Ryan Beatty said the work must be designed to endure: "We have to look at a systemic change...so this can continue when this money does run out."
Several commissioners voiced skepticism about the KDHE cancer‑rates analysis used in public debate. Commissioner Howe criticized the KDHE report’s methods and called for KDHE to correct or clarify the analysis, saying the report ‘‘is misleading’’ and that the population denominator used for incidence calculations may be incorrect. Howe nevertheless said he would support the $125,000 as a reasonable step while urging a longer‑term, data‑driven approach.
The board’s motion authorized contingency spending from BOCC contingency transferred to the public safety/community program in the general fund, and conditioned the disbursement on executing a third‑party contract to administer testing. The motion passed on a roll call with all commissioners voting aye.
What’s next: staff will proceed with contracting and implementation steps pursuant to the MOA and the board’s contingency language, and commissioners asked staff to continue pressing KDHE about report clarity and to pursue longer‑term countywide solutions for other contamination sites.
