Welcome and thank you all for being here today. Over a year has passed since we stood in this spot, and it looked much different than it does today. It was here that we declared our continued support for the environment. Where we decided to continue our fight to clean up the contamination known as the Gilbert & Mosley Project. It has been an uphill battle but today we can rejoice in our progress and see how close we are to completion.

Before we talk about where we are going, I must remind you where we have been. In 1991, the City of Wichita took the initiative and the risks of tackling an environmental problem that endangered our city. The problem and the solution both seemed insurmountable. The groundwater contamination that was discovered under downtown and south central Wichita threatened to end revitalization before it ever began. It rendered businesses helpless to expand or get loans. The health of our citizens was threatened. The value from thousands of parcels of property was endangered, threatening to make homes worth little and hard to sell.

The Environmental Protection Agency was considering placing the Gilbert-Mosley site on the Superfund List. Given the history of many Superfund sites, we were very reluctant to let this happen. Very often Superfund Sites end up producing a lot of lawsuits and result in a lot of money being spent without solving the real problem, which is to clean up the pollution.

After weighing the pros and cons, the City of Wichita developed an ingenious plan to keep the site off of the Superfund List. The City of Wichita took charge of the pollution clean-up. It had never been done before. It required changes in State law and permission from State and Federal agencies. Our approach worked. Businesses were again able to get bank loans and the plans for Old Town were finally able to advance. More than $300-million in development has taken place downtown. And the groundwater is being cleaned-up.

The Gilbert & Mosley Project is considered one of the most innovative public-private partnerships ever created to solve the complex environmental problem of groundwater contamination. This project has earned the City of Wichita national recognition, including the prestigious Ford Foundation's Innovations in State and Local Government Award from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Now that you have some background of this project, you can understand the excitement of today’s event. In a moment, we will officially dedicate this amazing building and the incredible feats it will soon accomplish. But first, I would like to introduce Jack Brown, our Director of Environmental Health. He has been instrumental in getting us here. He will explain briefly the remediation process that makes it all happen. Jack...

Thank you, Bill and Dick for all you have done to make this dream a reality. There were many others who have been instrumental in making this happen and I’d like to recognize them at this time for their commitment and leadership:

• The Wichita City Council, and with us today is
  • Bill Gale, District 4
  • Sharon Fearey, District 6
  • Bob Martz, District 5
  • And especially Phil Lambke of District 3. We are in his District right now.
  • The City Manager, Chris Cherches for his vision…
  • And Jack Brown and the entire group at Environmental Health
• Certainly Congressman Tiahrt, and representing his office is Ardena Schienbein
• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Representing their team today is Chris Jump.
• The Environmental Protection Agency
• Bill Livingston and his team at Gossen Livingston Architects
• Dick Kaufman from CDM and their team of engineers and consultants
• Taylor Studios, our contractor who is doing our exhibit work; with us we have Kevin Oehler who came in from the Chicago area to be with us today.
• All of the members of the Gilbert and Mosley ground water advisory committee
• and the Citizens Technical Review Committee
• And the fine folks from the Sierra Club

What I find most exciting about this project is that the City of Wichita has done something truly unique with the solution. This facility will serve as a learning tool for future generations so that they will not make the same mistake again. We are unique in the country by turning our center into an educational resource that school groups, visitors, citizens and even tourists will come to see. We challenged our architects to come up with something great and I think you will see here that they truly did. We are also pleased that the ground water will be cleaned up and reused for irrigation of this park property. It will be pure water, and serve us well at this location.

Today as we dedicate this facility, it brings us closer to the final chapter of this project. It has taken a significant amount of leadership and innovation to get us to this point. As with every aspect of this project since its inception, the City of Wichita has approached the necessary and practical task of cleaning up contaminated groundwater with creativity, innovation and added value for taxpayers. The City of Wichita is resolute in its pledge to clean up the groundwater, to protect the interests of taxpayers in the process and to collect the costs of the cleanup from those who caused the pollution. And as a new Council takes leadership, I challenge them to continue the efforts that we have started. They too must have this vision for it to succeed. Today marks a great point in our City’s history but what continues will forever influence our City’s future.

At this time I would like to officially unveil the plaque and dedicate this facility… as the WICHITA AREA TREATMENT EDUCATION & REMEDIATION CENTER, which will be abbreviated as the W.A.T.E.R. Center!

Thank you all for coming. Now I would like Jack Brown to step up and take it from here, I understand there will be tours by your staff and refreshments.