Officials weigh how to get millions of gallons of sludge out of Sprague

Cleanup of shuttered Fusion Paperboard plant will be a big, messy job

Sprague — State and federal officials are preparing to assess what will be needed to clean up wastewater lagoons and other areas of the former Fusion Paperboard plant, which closed in September 2014 and entered bankruptcy proceedings a year later.

In the meantime, local officials including First Selectwoman Cathy Osten, also the town's state senator, are eager for the cleanup to take place at the 451-acre site on Inland Road in Versailles village.

Osten said this week that several companies have expressed interest in the property, which includes 244,000 square feet of factory buildings used by the former cardboard recycling plant.

“The town is trying to get the prop- erty through foreclosure,” she said. “We have people interested in buying in, or using part of the property. I got a call just last week.”

A local apiary is interested in using part of the space to process honey, she said, and commercial Realtors have contacted the town about manufacturers and utility companies also interested in the plant, she said.

The site is attractive because of its proximity to rail lines, electrical capacity, natural gas lines and access to the Shetucket River and Versailles Pond, among other attributes, she said.

When the plant closed, 145 workers were employed there.

“I see the site as one that has a lot of possibilities,” she said.

Five basins at the property used for wastewater treatment are among areas that need remediation.

Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the agency is working with the state Office of the Attorney General to resolve legal issues associated with the cleanup and closure of the property.

DEEP has asked for assistance from the federal Environmental Protection Agency in assessing “the potential hazards of the wastes and materials left behind by Fusion,” Schain said.

“An assessment by EPA is a precursor to any cleanup, a cleanup that Fusion continues to be responsible for,” Schain said.

Dave Deegan, spokesman for the EPA’s New England Regional office, said he anticipates the EPA will do the site assessments this spring.

Schain said after the EPA completes its work, the DEEP and EPA “would be able to pursue appropriate remedial or legal actions.”

In November 2014, DEEP cited the company for several environmental violations and ordered cleanup of three basins and two lagoons.

The five basins were used for wastewater treatment and held up to 49 million gallons of sludge and liquid wastes which “reasonably can be expected to create a source of pollution to the waters of the state,” DEEP said in its order.

The company was also notified that it had discharged stormwater and other polluted water without proper permits, failed to report spills and had not inspected its dams at Paper Mill and Versailles ponds, among other violations.

DEEP’s order that the company correct the violations was made final on Nov. 30.

Robert Isner, director for DEEP’s waste engineering and enforcement division, said Thursday that Fusion “did minimal work” to comply with DEEP’s order and that penalties for the violations are being sought through the bankruptcy trustee.

The trustee, he said, has informed DEEP that company has insufficient funds to complete the cleanup work.

“We are still monitoring the site,” he said. “We are concerned about the site conditions and the potential for overflow” from the basins and lagoons.

In addition to sludge and liquid waste in the basins and lagoons, there is also paper recycling equipment and other industrial wastes at the plant, he said.

DEEP, he said, shares the town’s desire that the property become available for new occupants as soon as possible.

“It would be great if the site was returned to productive reuse,” he said.