WILTON — A second environmental assessment of the Forster Manufacturing mill site and options for cleanup were presented to residents Tuesday, along with hefty cost estimates for demolition and cleanup work.

Early estimates on options to remove hazardous materials, demolish the building and mitigate any chemicals found in the soil could carry a price tag of between $900,000 to $1.8 million depending on hazardous materials found and what options for remediation are chosen, according to Tracy Kelly of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 

A second public hearing was held Tuesday, prior to the town’s submission of applications for three Environmental Protection Agency cleanup grants totaling $600,000.

Kelly presented results of a Phase II environmental assessment started in September by TRC Environmental and three options for the town. 

The report arrived Dec. 11 in time to include information from it in the EPA grant applications due Friday, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.

Some contamination around a 100,000-gallon underground tank, mill drains and soil around them and an inventory of items bearing hazardous materials such as oxygen and gas tanks, old paint, chemicals used for developing photographs and some hydraulic fuels were among the concerns raised in the report, Kelly said.

Groundwater, superficial soil — soil reaching down 4 feet — and vapor samples taken below the mill were within the Maine DEP’s recommended guidelines, she said. 

Safety issues at the decaying mill site limited access under the mill or on the roof. There may be contaminants under the mill and around the drains which likely lead to Wilson Stream, she said. 

Soils around the stream at the mill site showed slightly higher levels of semi-volatile chemicals and metals than at other stream sites.

With known asbestos in the boiler room, the amount in the roof is unclear until demolition begins because of the structural damage preventing testers from getting on the roof. Three spots on one roof were tested.

“It seems to be a large issue,” Selectperson Scott Taylor said of the lack of safety to fully test the site.

Kelly provided three options and recommended one that would abate asbestos and hazardous materials, demolish the building, test the soil and replace contaminated soil with new soil. Estimates ranged from $900,000 to $1.6 million.

A second option is to demolish the building, cover the area with a large amount of new soil and put restrictions on digging for future use. The amount of new soil needed raised the estimated price tag on that option to between $1.2 million and $1.8 million, she said.

The third option was do nothing, she said.

Demolition of the site was previously estimated to cost between $650,000 and $800,000 because of the site is 263,000 square feet. More soil testing will be needed after demolition. Asbestos abatement and removal are estimated to cost up to $500,000, Irish said.

Selectperson Jeff Adams inquired about doing some of the work in sections to make the costs more palatable for the town.

Because of the safety issues and potential pollution to the stream, board members also discussed taking down the free-standing wall left from previous demolition work.

The EPA grants will be awarded in April with funds arriving in October. Towns from across the country with similar problems are also applying, she said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

The amounts of estimated costs have been clarified in this article.

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