Sheridan County Conservation District Awards Bid For Asbestos Cleanup In Old Acme Power Plant Building

The old Acme Power Plant site will soon be less of an environmental hazard and a portion of the building may have to be torn down sooner rather than later.

The Sheridan County Conservation District has awarded a bid of $630,000 to Horsley Specialties Inc. out of Rapid City, South Dakota, to cleanup the asbestos in the main portion of the Power Plant building.

Work may also include demolition of two of the old turbine rooms, because the roof is collapsing in those areas and it poses a safety concern.

District Manager Carrie Rogaczewski says most of the funding for the clean up work is provided via a grant from the EPA.

Under the terms of the grant, the money has to be used by a certain time, or else it’ll be lost.

Since the money that’s currently available isn’t enough to clean the entire building, the District has to find ways to finish the job.

“We’re looking into some other funding sources and if all those come together, there could actually be more so that we can tackle some of the additional areas within that building. The $630,000 won’t do everything, but we’ll be working through the pieces that we can do for that cost.”

Rogaczewski adds under the current terms of the agreement, cleanup work will start in September and be finished by June 2025.

That includes a break during the winter.

If more funding is secured for additional cleanup work, the timeline could be extended.