Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund cleanup 75 to 85 percent complete

Removal of industrial debris and potentially harmful residues is 75 to 85 percent complete at the former Curtis Specialty Papers mill and should be completed in May or June, according to a representative of one of two companies funding the work.

“We feel the asbestos work is going well,” said Paul Montney, project manager at Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific Corp., whose company acquired the property along with International Paper, of Memphis, Tenn., in 2009.
The two companies are funding the cleanup. The effort is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Superfund, the federal program to clean up the nation’s uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

A community advisory group organized by the EPA hosted an update on the cleanup effort Monday night at the Milford Public Library. About 30 people attended the roughly 90-minute meeting.

Studies are continuing into potential health risks and ecological risks at the former paper mill at 404 Frenchtown Road, on the Milford-Alexandria Township border, said EPA project manager Alison Hess, who is overseeing the cleanup of Curtis Specialty Papers and an adjacent Superfund site known as Crown Vantage Landfill.

Hess said the analytical data summary of soil work at Curtis Specialty Papers is done but has yet to be evaluated to quantify risks to human health and the environment.

The primary contaminants at Curtis Specialty Papers are polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a suspected carcinogen.

As part of asbestos removal at the former paper plant, according to Montney, workers have been monitoring the air and wrapping affected materials in plastic and have created “negative pressure containment” to ensure the material is being removed safely.

Other work being done is lead-paint removal, draining of industrial piping, taking storage tanks out of the ground and removing oil and other universal waste such as light bulbs and sprinkler heads — “all done under EPA oversight,” Montney said.
A cultural resources investigation on the history of the former paper mill and the mill buildings is also under way.

The coatings facility buildings, which are the oldest buildings on the Curtis Specialty Papers site, were badly damaged by last year’s Tropical Storm Irene and other severe weather in recent months.

“Those buildings are in pretty bad shape because of the weather,” Montney said. “We’re probably going to take those building down.”
Montney said work has been completed on demolition of the former mill’s aeration basin.

Officials characterized Curtis Specialty Papers as being in the remedial investigation/feasibility study stage, or the third of nine steps in the EPA’s Superfund process.

Crown Vantage Landfill in Alexandria Township is the subject of what is called a record of decision signed last September. Planning for Remedial Design/Remedial Action phase is under way; that is the fourth of nine steps in the Superfund process that begins with preliminary assessment and ends with the reuse of the site in some capacity after it has been de-listed from the National Priorities List.

Officials have not disclosed a timetable for the de-listing and potential reuse of Curtis Specialty Papers and Crown Vantage Landfill.

Hess, from the EPA, said Monday that completion of work at Curtis Specialty Papers is “some ways away from where we are today, but we ought to look at ways to redevelop the site.”

From the picture included in the website, it looks like they have demoed quite a lot. Too bad really, this was a fun trip. we also never got to see the roof...