By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

Stueven, who lives just inside Merrick County at 233 S. Gunbarrel Road, proposed an interlocal committee to improve communication and discuss solutions on water issues at a meeting Tuesday of the Merrick County Board of Supervisors.

"We don't mean them any harm," Stueven, a former member of the Merrick County Planning and Zoning Commission, said of Grand Island. "But I feel that government is responsible for trying to protect their citizens."

That responsibility includes keeping an eye on what's in the water that flows through the county, Stueven told the board.

Stueven and several county supervisors were concerned about a March 28 wastewater discharge violation by the city's treatment plant and JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant. That violation is being blamed for killing more than 10,000 fish in 24 miles of waterways, many of them in the Wood and Platte rivers in Merrick County.

Stueven said the county should know sooner about similar incidents so it can alert residents to keep their pets and livestock away from contaminated waterways.

So he proposed a committee made up of Merrick County supervisors, planning and zoning commissioners, citizens and government representatives from Grand Island and Hall County.

After several meetings, that committee could issue recommendations on the city's wastewater issues, which Stueven hoped would include possible zoning regulations on waste discharged into Merrick County's water supply.

The board did not take formal action on the proposal, but Chairman Herman Schuett of Chapman said it would likely be sent to the planning and zoning commission for consideration.