Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Grant will finish Statler Tissue cleanup

By Keith Edwards kedwards@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- The city has won $400,000 in federal grants to complete the cleanup of the former Statler Tissue riverside site.

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BRICKS AND MORTAR: James Morrow tosses a brick from the former Statler Tissue Mill into the bucket of an excavator on the Kennebec River in Augusta last year.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

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An assessment of what potential pollutants still may be left behind at the city-owned 17-acre site is nearing completion.

However, Michael Duguay, city development director, said the assessment thus far has revealed the spot to be a "relatively clean site," with a couple of spots where the soil appears to contain some residual amounts of PCBs and heavy petroleum.

The $400,000 awarded to the city Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duguay said, should be enough to complete the cleanup at the longtime industrial site seized by the city in 2009 for nonpayment of taxes.

"There are a couple of spots where there are some fuel residuals, effects of the papermaking industry, but nothing very alarming or cause for health concerns," Duguay said. "This $400,000 is to literally go in and extract the contaminated soil from the site and haul it away to a secure site," Duguay said.

"We're in about as good a position as you can be, having possession of a brownfield," Duguay said, using the term officials use for a contaminated industiral site with redevelopment potential. "We should have enough money with this grant to remove anything remaining at this site. Our engineer feels it should be very easy to remediate. It's a very easy, and predictable, remediation."

The money was part of $76 million released by the EPA this week -- $12.55 million in New England -- to assess, clean and redevelop abandoned or contaminated industrial or commercial brownfields.

"Cleaning and revitalizing contaminated sites helps create jobs, providing a solid foundation for a community to create new business and neighborhood centers, while making our environment cleaner and the community healthier," Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office, said in a news release.

Duguay expects the ongoing assessment of environmental hazards at the site to be complete by midsummer. Work on removing contaminated soils could start by fall, with the project probably pausing for winter and resuming in the spring.

The mill, between Riverside Drive and the Kennebec River, most recently operated as Augusta Tissue.

The site already has undergone inspections and chemical removal by the EPA; and the city had a contractor knock down the remaining decrepit mill buildings and level the land.

The city hopes to sell the site for redevelopment.

Duguay said proposals from consultants to plan the redevelopment of the spot are due Friday.

He anticipates the redevelopment proposals generally will reflect the wishes of residents who indicated, through a public input process, they'd like to see mixed uses at the location, potentially including housing, offices, some light retail, a brew pub, and/or a nonchain restaurant.

Duguay said he has been surprised and excited by the pace at which the city, with help from the EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection, has been able to move through the brownfields cleanup process. He said many communities struggle with such property for many years.

The city must match the $400,000 in EPA funding with $80,000. City Manager William Bridgeo previously estimated the city has spent less than $200,000 on the site thus far.

Bridgeo said the grant is great news and a testament to Duguay's skill and hard work, calling him "the best in the business."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com