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Livingston County Signs Off On Salt Mine Settlement

Livingston County officials have signed off on a $20 million settlement that will resolve some issues that date back to the collapse of a salt mine near Geneseo in 1994.

The settlement will allow the Dutch company that owned the mine, Akzo Nobel, to dismantle a desalination plant.  The plant actually closed months ago, but County Administrator Ian Coyle says there  have been concerns by some residents that it could someday be used to treat waste water from natural gas drilling that is done in other states.

“It was pretty much already closed, but a level of permanency associated with the end of the plant over there and thus from our constituents perspective, the end of the threat of frackwater processing at that plant.”

Some of the settlement money will go to the state which will help with groundwater monitoring in the area. Other funds will be used by Livingston County for various water infrastructure projects.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.