Paynesville Wants the State to Speed Up Pollution Cleanup

PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (AP) - Fourteen years after two dangerous chemicals were found in water samples from two Paynesville city wells, city officials want to know why the state has been so slow to clean the contamination.

Public-works director Ron Mergen says state pollution officials have been doing plenty of testing but not enough cleaning.

Officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say the contaminated wells aren't a threat to the city's water supply. They say the contamination source is stable.

Donald Milless is a supervisor in the MPCA's Petroleum Remediation Program. He says the cleanup is complicated by several factors, including the size of the contamination source and the geology of the area.

City officials say they'll try to persuade MPCA to be more aggressive about cleaning up.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)