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Assessments complete, reports incoming on Forster Mill

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The Forster Manufacturing Co. property, as seen from Depot Street.
The Forster Manufacturing Co. property, as seen from Depot Street in 2014.

WILTON – The environmental engineering firm funded by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have completed their fieldwork inside the Forster Manufacturing Co. mill, the town manager said Tuesday evening, with the town expecting a report sometime by mid-June.

Ransom Consulting, Inc. is the same company that oversaw the assessment and eventual treatment of the Wilton Tannery building. They are conducting a state-funded Phase I assessment and Hazardous Waste Material inventory in the partially-demolished mill. Wilton cut off an ongoing legal process to have the building declared dangerous and demolished after owner Adam Mack failed to respond to a town notice regarding back taxes. The town acquired the property in March.

Wilton is once again seeking to work with the DEP and Ransom Consulting to assess the property in advance of a potential cleanup. The initial steps are to conduct a Phase I assessment, in which the building’s historical uses are charted and analyzed for potential contamination at the site, and the hazardous material inventory. The inventory attempts to catalog hazardous material such as asbestos, which was at least partially-abated in 2012, as well as underground oil tanks.

Town Manager Rhonda Irish said Tuesday that Ransom Consulting had been in the building over the course of multiple days and completed their initial fieldwork. A written reported was expected within a month or so. From there, the town might conduct a Phase II assessment if recommended, potentially once again with assistance from the DEP’s Brownfields program. A Phase II assessment would consist of more samples being collected and a more complete history of the building’s various associated contaminants being developed.

Irish noted that the town was also looking into better securing the structure with more chainlink fencing.

Funding for the demolition would need to be secured to bring the building down. Among other possibilities is a Community Development Block Grant application filed with the Department of Economic & Community Development, which includes $100,000 of funding earmarked for demolition. Previous estimates had the demolition costing $300,000 or more to complete.

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