Nebraska Ordnance Plant
The Nebraska Ordnance Plant is a former United States Army ammunition plant located approximately ½ mile south of Mead, Nebraska and 30 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska in Saunders County. It originally extended across 17,250 acres (69.8 km2) producing weapons from 1942-45 after which the Army used it as a bomb factory during the Vietnam War. Environmental investigations in the 1980's found the soil and groundwater contaminated with the explosive RDX and the degreaser trichloroethylene. In 1990, federal agencies the site to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site. Remediation included soil excavation and water treatment, the latter of which has been ongoing since 1997. Water is contained and treated at 4 treatment plants and the known plumes are monitored at hundreds of wells. The latest wells, dug deeper into the bedrock than previously, showed RDX and TCE above desired action levels in April 2016.
The former Nebraska Ordnance Plant is one of Nebraska's 5 major ammunition plants: the Cornhusker Ordnance Plant, the Sioux Army Depot, the Hastings Naval Ammunition Depot and the Martin Bomber Plant. It stretches over 17,250 acres of nearly flat terrain about half a mile south of the village Mead, Nebraska and 30 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska in Saunders County. Rain water drains to the southwest toward Silver Creek, Nebraska on the plants western part, and on its eastern portion to the south-southeast, toward Johnson Creek, Nebraska, Clear Creek, Nebraska, and the 'Lower Platte North Natural Resource District Reservoir'. The ground consists of sand and gravel deposits, and beyond 30 feet below the surface of sandstone. The groundwater generally flows south-southeast toward the Platte River Valley and is used as drinking water and for agriculture.
As of 2016[update] the University of Nebraska - Lincoln owns 8,650 acres on which it maintains an agricultural research and development center. The Department of Defense owns a portion used by the Nebraska National Guard and Army Reserves and the remainder is private property.
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