Municipal Incinerator
"The incinerator, built in 1943 to burn garbage collected in the city, has been a problem almost since its construction. It hasn't been used in more than half a century because it was too expensive to maintain and operate.
The original single-stack incinerator quickly proved inadequate to serve the city, even though the contractor claimed it would have the capacity to burn the trash of 100,000 residents.
In 1949, voters agreed by a slim margin to spend $150,000 to add a second furnace, expanding the capacity of incinerator. But in 1955, the incinerator closed because it was too expensive to operate and in need of extensive repairs.
The construction tab for the incinerator was not paid off until 1968 — 13 years after it closed.
The property was later used to store 15 tons of the carcinogenic insecticide DDT, as a dumping ground for junked cars and as a training facility for the Galveston Fire Department.
Galveston has so far allocated about $5.4 million for the facility's removal, the construction of a concrete cap to contain contaminated soil and to treat offsite properties possibly affected by the incinerator's operation, Fortin said.
The funding comes from Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery money awarded after Hurricane Ike in 2008. The money was earmarked for projects to remove blight, according to the city.
"Because of the nature of the work involved, the project will be advertised as a request for proposals so that the methodology proposed for the demolition of the structure and remediation of the contaminants can be evaluated in determining which contractor is best qualified for performing the work," Fortin said.
Nearly three years ago, the city started the process of completing an environmental assessment to demolish the incinerator.
The money comes from $212 million the city received in disaster recovery funds to repair infrastructure, including street, drainage and water and sewer projects."
www.galvnews.com/news/article_72177f04-cb32-56b2-a4a8-6bb...
Municipal Incinerator
"The incinerator, built in 1943 to burn garbage collected in the city, has been a problem almost since its construction. It hasn't been used in more than half a century because it was too expensive to maintain and operate.
The original single-stack incinerator quickly proved inadequate to serve the city, even though the contractor claimed it would have the capacity to burn the trash of 100,000 residents.
In 1949, voters agreed by a slim margin to spend $150,000 to add a second furnace, expanding the capacity of incinerator. But in 1955, the incinerator closed because it was too expensive to operate and in need of extensive repairs.
The construction tab for the incinerator was not paid off until 1968 — 13 years after it closed.
The property was later used to store 15 tons of the carcinogenic insecticide DDT, as a dumping ground for junked cars and as a training facility for the Galveston Fire Department.
Galveston has so far allocated about $5.4 million for the facility's removal, the construction of a concrete cap to contain contaminated soil and to treat offsite properties possibly affected by the incinerator's operation, Fortin said.
The funding comes from Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery money awarded after Hurricane Ike in 2008. The money was earmarked for projects to remove blight, according to the city.
"Because of the nature of the work involved, the project will be advertised as a request for proposals so that the methodology proposed for the demolition of the structure and remediation of the contaminants can be evaluated in determining which contractor is best qualified for performing the work," Fortin said.
Nearly three years ago, the city started the process of completing an environmental assessment to demolish the incinerator.
The money comes from $212 million the city received in disaster recovery funds to repair infrastructure, including street, drainage and water and sewer projects."
www.galvnews.com/news/article_72177f04-cb32-56b2-a4a8-6bb...