BEATRICE – The demolition of the old vacant Dempster Manufacturing plant in south Beatrice is a multi-year project…now complicated by vandals who spilled PCB laden oil inside the facility.
“There are vandals who took it upon themselves to try to take apart a couple of large transformers for their copper value. I think they were successful in removing the copper, however, they were also successful in spilling out of these transformers, some disagreeable oil.”
Beatrice Mayor Stan Wirth says a phase-one environmental study completed before the vandalism resulted in a positive report, regarding leftover materials or chemicals inside the building. But after the damage with the transformers, the oil that spilled on concrete inside the plant measured about 450,000 part-per-million of PCBs…..well above the acceptable limit of 50 parts-per-million.
“That has to be cleaned up before anything can be done with that property, whatsoever. That is going to be an expensive process because everything has to be removed…even the concrete that it is sitting on…and everything has to be incinerated, including the concrete. Now, you’re not going to burn the concrete completely, but your at least going to burn the oil out of the concrete.”
KWBE was given a tour of the inside the of plant by Beatrice Code Enforcement Officer Chet McGrury. The sometimes ghostly look of the interior shows it in a shambles….and it has been the scene of trespassing and thefts….even squatters living onsite. The plant site of the company that made the famous Dempster windmills and was founded in 1878 is now condemned and posted, to keep persons out. But, McGrury says its’ nearly impossible to keep people off the property.
“Most of the fences are all cut, so there’s access in and out. It’s just hard to patrol it. I don’t think we’ve actually caught anybody in here, at this point. You can hide just about anywhere in here.”
The city has acquired a south section of the property, but not that area where the oil was spilled. The plant’s last owner was from Ohio. As for clean-up and demolition, Mayor Wirth says the city wants to ensure it is not liable for the past damage done. “If we stand the cost of cleaning up this disagreeable stuff, then we want to be indemnified by them (state environmental officials) that we’re not going to be held liable for anything else that occurs. So, that negotiation is going on, right now.”
The Dempster property is now overgrown with trees and brush, littered with debris inside and outside. It’s fence has been cut along the southwest part of the property…. an entry point for thieves. The overgrown area has even become shelter for deer.
The City of Beatrice has begun budgeting for demolition of the plant…a section-by-section process expected to take several years.
