To insulate local residents from any groundwater contamination, the Army proposed a solution — a $20 million municipal water system to serve 400 households living near the former plant, the majority in the town of Merrimac.
The Army has found four plumes — sections of groundwater full of toxic contaminants — from the Badger Army site that has contaminated drinking water.
Parts of the site run by the DNR have become the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area where people can hunt, hike, bike or birdwatch.
“After review of the Decision Document, which included construction and operation of a public drinking water system near the former BAAP as part of the proposed remedy, the Army’s environmental and legal experts concluded that Army’s construction and operation of a public drinking water system is not authorized within the Army’s existing legal and funding authorities.” At the meeting, the Army will answer questions and update residents on the latest groundwater sampling results and overall progress of cleanup.
“The bottom line is that it was an Army ammunition plant, and they have obligations under the change in ownership of the property to make sure that water is safe,” said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who has been working on drinking water issues at Badger since 1998.
“I believe we have to hold the United States Army accountable to their legal obligations of the people of Sauk County and the proximity of Badger Army Ammunition Plant.” Baldwin said she has pushed for more information and transparency from the Army about what happened to delay the project after years of planning, millions of dollars spent, and approval from Army officials.
“They’re in violation of that approval from the DNR,” McCumber said.
The agency said installation of the water system was never a condition to changes of how the Army is monitoring water contamination at Badger.
The Army has done some cleanup of contaminated surface soil from the chemical dump sites, including scraping and testing surface soils as it demolished buildings.
The DNR issued guidelines earlier this year for how much DNT should be permissible in drinking water and the Army issued a new plan for testing more wells last month.