Clinton IA Steel Plant Cleanup Hits New Total Of $14.5 Million

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CLINTON, Iowa — "More surprises have been unearthed in Clinton’s environmental cleanup of the former Allied Steel site — about 85,000 to 100,000 more tons of contaminated soil to remove, clean and replace.

Kevin Larson of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, told Clinton City Council members that workers have found about five times more underground contamination from coal tar deposits than the agency expected. Since the work now calls for the removal of soil 12 feet underground, the site could be used for buildings after the cleanup, rather than just parking lots or green space as initially planned. “It could be used for a wide range of things,” Larson said.

He said the deposits are thicker than some EPA workers have seen before. The discards came from a gas-production company at the turn of the century. The discovery brings the project to about $14.5 million, which will be paid by Alliant Energy, the current owner of the site.

The coal-tar cleanup will continue through April, then stop during the warmer months so the foul odor won’t waft through Riverview Park. Larson said the digging will resume in the fall and is expected to be completed by December or January 2006."

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http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1047858&t=Business&c=31,1047858