Mapleton considering Ensign-Bickford property

MAPLETON (Deseret News) — City officials are considering a proposal to change the boundary between Mapleton and Spanish Fork, bringing land into Mapleton that was once the home of explosives-manufacturing company Ensign-Bickford.

The Mapleton City Council will discuss the proposal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 125 W. 400 North.

For more than a decade, numerous residents in south Mapleton were diagnosed with cancer and other diseases and several died, including a former mayor. Several lawsuits were filed against Ensign-Bickford, which lies directly south in Spanish Fork, blaming the sicknesses on tainted groundwater.

As a result of the legal action, water in one of the city's wells is pumped constantly to clear the contaminants — a process that is expected to take years.

Developer Jack Evans with Mesquite Presidio Capital in Provo wants to develop the land, potentially as commercial or industrial, but a group of Mapleton residents have expressed concern, Mayor Laurel Brady said.

The cost of providing utilities would be much more economical for Evans if he could connect through Mapleton rather than Spanish Fork, Brady said.

Some residents, however, fear the liability to the city if the boundary line is changed. They're concerned that the contaminants are still in the ground, although it has been cleaned up and some areas capped.

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