The demolition of American Municipal Power's Richard H. Gorsuch Generating Station has been catching the eye of those driving on Ohio 7 south of Marietta, as the work has moved into a new phase.
The plant is located between Marietta and Belpre next to Eramet-Marietta.
AMP closed the facility after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department filed a suit in April of 2009 for violating the Clean Air Act.
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ART SMITH The Marietta Times
The demolition of American Municipal Power’s Richard H. Gorsuch Generating Station located on Ohio 7 is under way and is being contracted by Brandenburg Industrial Services
As part of a settlement agreement the facility was required to be closed by the end of 2012 but the final day of operation was Dec. 15, 2010. According to a release by AMP in 2010 the plant was shut down early to avoid future investments into the plant that would not be economically sound given the facility's expected life.
The contract for the demolition is with Brandenburg Industrial Services, said Kent Carson, the senior director of Media Relations at AMP.
"The actual demolition of the main building at the site started sometime last year," Carson said. "As of now we are progressing as planned and anticipate it being wrapped up by the end of the year."
Fact Box
Richard H. Gorsuch Generating Station timeline
Facility was built in 1951 as part of the Union Carbide complex.
AMP acquired partial ownership of the facility in 1988.
The U.S. EPA filed suit against AMP in April of 2009 for violating pollution standards set by the U.S. Clean Air Act.
Dec. 15, 2010 was the last day of operation in the facility.
The demolition of the facility began in 2012.
The demolition is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2014.
