NORFOLK, NE -
From lower property values to possible pollution, a discussion in Norfolk has some residents outraged.
A proposed fertilizer factory is raising a stink with neighbors.
Imagine an industrial area popping up right next to where you live, that's what some folks near Norfolk, Nebraska are worried about.
A field just south of Norfolk, Nebraska could be the future site of a Helena Chemical Company fertilizer plant, but the folks that live in the area say that site is too close for comfort.
"There's close to one hundred residences that could be affected by this," said Timothy Miller, who owns property near the proposed fertilizer facility site.
The proposed plant would wind up about five miles south and one mile west of town.
Neighbors are worried it would turn their quiet stretch of road into something completely different.
"We don't want all this traffic going down our road," said Stacy Anderson, who lives right next to where the fertilizer facility could pop up.
Besides the noise and traffic that go along with a commercial fertilizer sales and storage facility, the folks who live in the area say they're more worried about what would happen if something goes wrong.
"Everybody has shallow wells and any kind of containment breach, dry or wet, that leeches into the soil is going to cause well issues, water issues, contamination issues that will be there for decades," said Miller.
"Do you want to come to my table in a year, and I'll give you a glass of water, are you actually going to drink it?" said Anderson. "I doubt you would."
Anderson wants to know what a new neighbor would mean for the value of her home.
"We just moved in in December of 2011, so we haven't been here very long," said Anderson. "Had we even known that this facility was going up we would have never considered building our house here, investing all this money."
Everyone says they're not against the industry, or the money that facility would bring to town, they just don't think their neighborhood is the right fit.
"I'm all for it, I just believe that this is not the place for it in the middle of a housing residence," said Anderson. "You need to go where it's more industrialized."
Helena Chemical Company had no comment on their plans, or even the possibility of a plant near Norfolk.
That being said, there's no official timeline yet as to when, or even if, the fertilizer plant will go up.
KMEG 14 contacted Helena Chemical Company, and they declined to comment on this story.
