Managing editor
The City of Marion will join the City of Hillsboro and other Kansas municipalities in a civil lawsuit against a herbicide manufacturer.
At Monday’s council meeting, following a 10-minute executive session for attorney-client privilege, the council approved to enter into an agreement with attorneys in a lawsuit.
Atrazine has been found in Marion Reservoir and has affected the way Marion and Hillsboro water plants treat their drinking water.
The principal manufacturer is Syngenta.
The lawsuit hopes to recover full costs of investigation, monitoring, remediation, treatment, restoration of public water resources, and litigation.
Fortunately, only low concentrations of the herbicide have been detected in the Marion and Hillsboro water distribution systems.
An effective way to remove atrazine from the water supply is through granular activated carbon (GAC) which forces the water into equilibrium and has uniform contact time.
By becoming involved in the lawsuit, the city will pay a contingency fee, one-third of the attorneys’ fees and expenses if the suit is successful, and all expenses advanced by attorneys. No payment for fees or expenses will be made by the city unless the attorneys are successful in recovering money.