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MAPLETON, Utah (AP) -- State environmental officials are hailing the cleanup of a polluted industrial site in Spanish Fork, suggesting it's suitable for development.
The state Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public comment on a management plan for the 500-acre site of the former Trojan plant in Spanish Fork. The explosives manufacturing plant closed in 2006.
Developer Jack Evans has proposed building a mixed-use development on the site that he wants included in Mapleton's boundaries.
"We look at this as a success story," said Brad Maudling, manager of DEQ's hazardous waste facilities section. A site once contaminated with chemical explosives "can now be put to good use," he said.
But David Nemelka, a longtime critic of plant owner Ensign-Bickford, said the area is still too risky for the city to include in its boundaries and allow 1,000 homes.
He said the request to make it part of Mapleton should be put to a public vote and he might initiate a referendum if the city doesn't place it on the ballot.
"There are environmental liabilities that we are not aware of," Nememka told the Salt Lake Tribune, referring to areas that will be off limits to residential development because of lingering contamination.
The management plan will be unveiled at a June 2 public meeting.
Maudling said the cleanup involved baking 90,000 tons of soil in a kiln to destroy any pollutants, and shipping off more than 200,000 tons to a landfill in Price and replacing it with clean soil.
The company also traced all drain pipes and incinerated them on site to ensure that any residues were destroyed.
But low levels of contamination were still found in some areas, entombed beneath a soil cap. Plans call for those areas to either be limited to commercial buildings or preserved as open space.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
