The dismantling of the rear tower of Stenton Trust mill on River Street in Sanford is now scheduled to begin the week of July 29 because the company doing the work for the EPA is delayed on another job. EPA is picking up the $1.7 million tab for the demolition.. TAMMY WELLS/Journal Tribune
SANFORD – Residents of Sanford expecting to see the beginning of the dismantling of the rear tower of Stenton Trust mill next week will have to wait a week longer.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency On Scene Coordinator Catherine Young on Wednesday said the company contracted to take down the rear portion of the mill has been delayed on another job.
Originally expected to commence the week beginning July 22, the demolition is now expected to start during the week beginning July 29.
“This happens quite often,” she said. “There was a delay on another job.”
The demolition, to be conducted by Costello Dismantling of Exeter, New Hampshire, is expected to be complete by the end of September.
The rear tower, called Tower C by the EPA, which is handling the project under its Emergency Response and Removal Program, was burned in a fire in June 23, 2017. Three boys, 12 and 13, at the time, were charged with arson in the case, and each later admitted to the lesser charge of criminal mischief and were placed on probation for a year.
Tower C, and sections B and D – which include smaller buildings, will be taken down slowly, Young said in a prior interview, and will be removed from the site.
“Because there are so many people (living) around it, we have to be methodical,” she said. A structural engineer walked the site and it was determined that the building would come down a bit at a time. “(They will) cut the steel and take it down piece by piece,” she said.
Young said there will be continuous air monitoring for particulates and that water will be applied to the materials to make sure there are no dust particles.
Asbestos was abated in the front tower facing River Street earlier this year.
She said the site is closed to the public, and that the U.S. Coast Guard ‘s Atlantic Strike Team has provided a safety officer at the scene. The Coast Guard often provides security for the EPA, Young said.
The EPA has budgeted $1.7 million for the project.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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