"The emergency fund, apparently, that pays for this type of thing is depleted at this time," Ramey said.
Toxic levels down after tests
On Friday, the same day Ramey found funding for the cleanup, he received lab results that saved the city from the costs. Because of the previous attempt at dilution, and the diluting contributions from Mother Nature, Ramey said toxic levels were down and diluting it again should take care of the cleanup problem.
"I hope it don't happen again," Ramey said.
To help with the meth problem in Crab Orchard, Ramey unexpectantly received a meth awareness kit from a meth awareness watch group in Iowa that read about Crab Orchard's problem online. They sent Ramey brochures, bumper stickers, posters, a DVD and VHS for training on what to look for in meth, and forms for local retailers to fill out on people who make suspicious buys.
"There is still an investigation," Kuhn said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration still is investigating at the federal level, and still have a list of the houses serviced by the damaged lift stations. Residences serviced by these lift stations have been informed of the ordinance of the city, stating residents are responsible for any toxins that go down the drains and damage equipment.
The lift stations are still in service, despite the removal of a damaged motor and pump from each station. Now that the lift stations are safe enough for inspection, Ramey said the twice-weekly checks are now in effect. If this problem happens again, Kuhn said it will be hard to tell if anything is wrong until the odor changes, then the person is already exposed.
"Hopefully, if we can catch it fast enough, we can go ahead and dilute immediately and that will help," Ramey said.
They both hope it doesn't come to that. "There's a lot of investigating going on from many different levels," Ramey said.
