We want to believe that it was an unintentional result of a decision to release too much waste sewage from the Swift & Co. plant that led to the city's fifth citation from the Department of Environmental Quality. As a result of that March 28 incident, over 10,000 fish were killed in a 24-mile stretch of the Wood River downstream from where Grand Island releases its treated waste water.

While we sincerely want to believe that these violations were limited incidents, the frequency and number of incidents means that these are intentional and not the result of an accident or lax monitoring.

These incidents need to be halted immediately. The city is the steward of the material that flows from its waste water treatment plant. If its main customer is not following the rules, even after repeated violations, the city needs to step in and minimize its role in violating the law. This would involve shutting off the Swift & Co. plant from using the city waste water facility. Being that Swift is the area's largest employer, that measure would have an impact on the region.

The meatpacker has said that it is a lagoon problem and that a new lagoon is being constructed. Its August completion date will not prevent the problem from occurring again tomorrow. Going through the various options to the plant, it would seem the only way to immediately control the waste it emits is to limit production until a new lagoon is functional. That would be a financial hit for the Brazilian-owned company, but it may be the only way to guarantee that another environmental disaster does not occur.

The city has announced that it is willing to spend $7.5 million immediately to expand its facility as the result of the Swift & Co. violations. But the company needs to step forward with immediate solutions to the problem. One major disaster has occurred and the people of Merrick County need to be assured that their water is not impacted as the result of unsafe water from Grand Island and the Swift plant.

The problem has been bubbling for too long. Long-term solutions are needed, but immediate control of the problem must be implemented now. The mayor and council must take firm action to make sure another environmental disaster does not occur tomorrow.