FORT PLAIN - National Grid is scheduled to begin a nearly $4 million cleanup effort at the former Manufactured Gas Plant in the village today.
The project includes removing the plant's existing structures, excavating contaminated soils, adding a one-foot surface cover and removing or adding oxygen to contaminated groundwater to enhance the natural degradation process at the half-acre site at 14 Hancock St.
Site restoration is expected to be completed sometime in late October or mid-November, according to a news release from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Gas from coal and oil was produced on the site from 1868 to 1920 by heating coal and other petroleum products with steam.
Several byproducts, including coal tar, have remained at the site since it stopped producing gas in the early 20th century.
According to the news release, National Grid, which was then Niagara Mohawk, signed an order of consent in 1992 to clean up the site.
National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said Friday the company has a list of more than 60 remediation projects in the state that were investigated in the early 1990s, and it has categorized each site based on its health risks.
"What we did was prioritize all those sites according to risks. The ones that have the higher risks were done first and now we're getting down the list to ones like this [in Fort Plain]," Stella said.
By mid-September, crews are expected to begin pre-drilling and pre-trenching the site and will work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. there. Route 5S may be closed to one lane of traffic at certain times throughout the three-month process.
DEC officials say dust, odors and noise from the project will be monitored and controlled.
For more information on the state Superfund program, visit the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8439.html.
Detailed information on this project is available at the Fort Plain Library, 19 Willett St., or from the DEC Region 4 Office in Schenectady.
Amanda Whistle covers Montgomery County news. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com.