ENVIRONMENT Costs delay power plant cleanup

There should be no problem getting more federal money, the officials said.
WARREN -- The heavy lifting has stopped at the former Mahoningside power plant, and another $400,000 is needed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to wrap up decontamination work there.
"More toxic waste was being pulled out of there than originally anticipated by the U.S. EPA," Mayor Michael O'Brien said. The effort involves removal of high-level PCB-contaminated material and asbestos-contaminated material.
The heavy equipment is gone from the site for now.
"It's been temporarily demobilized," explained Mark A. Durno, the on-scene coordinator with EPA Region V.
The EPA spent $950,000 during the cleanup's first phase in 2000-2001 and had planned to spend another $800,000 this spring.
"We hit that ceiling," Durno said of the $800,000. Another $400,000 now is needed to address the 6,000 tons of material remaining at the site, he said.
The EPA is funding the cleanup cost which now is pegged at $2.15 million.
The additional funding is necessary because a greater amount of PCB-contaminated material was found than had been expected, the officials explained.
Durno said it was thought that 10 percent of the material would be PCB-contaminated, but it turned out to be 25 percent. A pile of material remains covered at the work site off Summit Street Northwest next to the Mahoning River.
"One way or another, the money will get there," Durno said, though it could be two to three more weeks until the cleanup can resume.
O'Brien also said there should be no problem getting the additional dollars.
Waste removal
The work started Feb. 21. To date, about 7,500 tons of low-level PCB material containing asbestos has been hauled away. Also, 1,700 tons of higher-level PCB-contaminated material was shipped off the site.
The PCB material has a greater removal cost: $100 per ton as compared with $35 per ton for the asbestos material, Durno noted.
Removed material is sent for landfill disposal. Large debris is pressure-washed and tested to see whether it can be used as fill on the site. The final disposition of the big debris, which has tested "clean," will be up to the city, Durno said.
The site was a hydroelectric and coal-burning power plant from the early 1900s until the mid-1970s. The power plant sits on six acres, and the foundation encompasses 34,000 square feet.
The building along the important state Route 45 corridor has been vacant since 1975.
The first phase of cleanup was conducted from August 2000 through March 2001 and involved disposal of about 1,800 tons of PCB-contaminated debris.
Warren officials have said they will apply for federal brownfield site funds and Clean Ohio money with the hope of redeveloping the site. It will be seeded, greened up and marketed.