https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/absorber-tank-pulled-down-at-former-springdale-power-plant-injunction-case-to-resume/
Absorber tank pulled down at former Springdale power plant; injunction case to resume
An absorber tank at the former power plant in Springdale was knocked down Thursday afternoon.
The action at the plant, formally called the Cheswick Generating Station, is part of the remediation efforts at the site, said Scott Reschly, vice president of Charah Solutions.
Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group, a subsidiary of environmental remediation firm Charah Solutions of Louisville, Ky., is remediating the property.
The “pull-down” went well, Reschly said.
The power plant closed in April 2022 after operating for 50 years. It was the last coal-fired power generating plant in Allegheny County.
On June 2, two smokestacks were imploded at the property. In August, a section of the boiler house building was pulled down.
An implosion of the boiler house was scheduled for Sept. 22 but has been postponed because of an injunction filed by 16 Springdale residents. They allege the implosion of the smokestacks caused harm to their properties and the community. Their injunction also claims that allowing the boiler house implosion to proceed would be harmful to the community.
The injunction case is being overseen by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay Jr. McVay has yet to rule on the case, but he has required contractors to hold off on placing explosive charges in the boiler house building until he issues his ruling.
Testimony was heard from Allegheny County Health Department officials; residents involved in the injunction lawsuit; officials with Charah and the other companies involved in the implosion, Controlled Demolition Inc. and Grant Mackay Co.; Department of Environmental Protection representatives; and two Springdale Council members and the borough’s zoning officer.
The judge and attorneys in the case visited the site Oct. 24. According to McVay’s order, attendees had to comply with the redevelopment group’s safety rules and regulations. The order also stated that video and documents obtained during the visit were only for the eyes of the attorneys and experts.
The hearing will resume in McVay’s Downtown Pittsburgh courtroom at 9 a.m. Nov. 13 and is on the schedule for three days.
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