TRAVERSE CITY -- A contaminated site in Leelanau County that federal regulators once considered safe for humans will require $4.3 million in extensive short- and long-term cleanup.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will begin demolition of the former Grand Traverse Overall Supply Co. building in Elmwood Township next week so it can remove soil contaminated with carcinogenic solvents. The former industrial laundry is next to Norris Elementary School at the corner of Cherry Bend Road and M-22.
The cost of demolition, further testing and soil excavation is approximately $2 million. Additional long-term cleanup, including pumping and treatment of contaminated groundwater, is estimated at $2.3 million.
EPA contractors will start work on the interior of the building Dec. 1, but will wait until the school goes on Christmas break to begin demolition.
"It will just be safer and easier to do if you don't have to worry about kids getting onto the property," EPA spokesman Don de Blasio said.
The EPA will update the public on the clean-up plan at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Elmwood Township Hall at 10090 E. Lincoln Road. The public is invited to comment in writing on the long-term options at the meeting or may submit comments online until Dec. 31 at www.epa.gov/sites/grandtraverse/index.htm.
Until 1977, Grand Traverse Overall Supply Co. discharged wastewater from its dry-cleaning and laundry operation into on-site lagoons and nearby Cedar Creek. The lagoon areas at the northern end of the property were cleaned up in the late 1970s, and in 1992 the agency decided no further clean-up was necessary.
The EPA never looked under the building, where a private party discovered contamination in 1996.
"There is a great deal of solvent-saturated soil under the building," said EPA on-scene coordinator Michelle Jaster. "We know it extends down 12 to 15 feet from the surface."
In 2005, the EPA discovered potentially harmful vapors seeping into the building from the soil, and the building's tenant moved out.
Jaster said the agency will leave the building's concrete floor in place to act as a cap while they conduct further testing to establish the perimeter of contamination. Testing will take at least a month, followed by the excavation work.
EPA project manager Linda Martin said she won't know specifics about long-term clean-up activities until March, when the agency prioritizes sites for funding.
Print this story
E-mail this story
