Contaminated Mobil in Canton will be demolished, soil removed
CANTON — Exxon Mobil's next step in cleaning up the contaminated Main Street Mobil will be to tear the building down in August.
After the building is taken down, the corporation will dig out all of the soil to the property lines, state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Stephen W. Litwhiler said.
"That should take 30 to 45 days, so we expect they will finish by the end of September or into October," he said.
Exxon Mobil has been cleaning up the site for years and took away tons of dirt in 2006. It left behind a collection and monitoring system, but DEC pushed for a permanent solution.
DEC and Exxon Mobil came to an agreement last year that the cleanup would take place this summer but there has been no activity on the site except for a man selling Amish-made baskets.
"I look out at it from my window every day, hoping something is going to happen," Mayor Charlotte C. Ramsay said.
Village Superintendent Brien E. Hallahan had heard from a contractor interested in bidding on the job, so he knew the work was likely to happen sometime this season.
Exxon Mobil is waiting until later in the summer because the weather is typically drier and the groundwater table should be at its lowest, Mr. Litwhiler said.
"They can get deeper and pull out the contaminated soil without dealing with the water," he said.
The convenience store, the village's last downtown gas station, closed in May 2006. Owner William P. Collins operated the station for years as a franchise and then leased it to Kuno Oil, Canton. With an agreement that Mobil would remain responsible for cleaning the contamination, Mr. Collins purchased the property after the business closed and listed it for sale for $650,000.
At its peak, the business handled more than 1,000 customers daily.
There was initial interest but nothing lately, perhaps because potential buyers are waiting for the cleanup or because of worries about the economy.
"Timing wasn't on my side," Mr. Collins said. "It's very quiet."
