Kristine Coulter • Beacon Free Press
July 4, 2012
FISHKILL – “Stop logs” were reinstated in the Fishkill Creek, so the creek can once again rise to its natural level. A Chevron officially recently made the update. The project to remove asbestos, tear down more than 40 buildings n the old Texaco Research campus continues.
“In August 2011, Chevron initiated a project at the former Texaco Research Center to fortify the northern end of their dam on Fishkill Creek required by the New York State Department of Environmental Quality and make improvements to allow for future hydroelectric power generation.” said project manager Mark Hendrickson in an e-mail. “The creek had to be lowered on the upstream side of the dam to ensure the safety of the workers on the project and this was accomplished by remove the “stop logs” that are part of the dam.”
The project has been completed to the point where the safety of the workers no longer requires the lower creek level upstream of the dam, he said.
“The workers making the dam improvements needed to work on and within the hydroelectric chambers. A temporary sheet pile coffer dam was constructed around the work area to provide the dry environment necessary to allow the workers to perform this work. The stop logs were removed to lower the water level stressing the coffer dam within which the workers were performing their duties,” explained Hendrickson.
The dam improvement work is near completion, according to Hendrickson. The asbestos abatement and building demolition is on schedule. The work is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, he said.
