Kristine Coulter • Beacon Free Press
December 12, 2012
FISHKILL – Building 50, the building most people would associate with the former Texaco site in the Fishkill hamlet of Glenham, has been demolished.
“Building 50 served as an administration building and is the building most people are familiar with because of its size and its location in front of the former Texaco Research Center along Old Glenham Road. The Building consisted of 70,891 square feet of floor space and was build in two phases” Mark Hendrickson, Chevron Environmental Management Company Superfund & Specialty Portfolios Business Unit, recently said.
The following, which Hendrickson sent in an email, is from Chevron’s Public Archeology Facility Report. Chevron acquired Texaco facility in 2001, after a merger with Texaco
“Building 50 is a large, multi-story brick office building that was built in 1952. In its original configuration, it consisted only of the current front (northern) wing. In its current form, it is generally L-shaped with the long section running generally east-west, and L section extending to the south from the west end; the west wing was added in 1956… Ground was broken for Building 50 in August of 1951, to mark the 20th anniversary of TRCB (Texaco Research Center Beacon). It was completed in 1952, and has served as the most visible feature of the TRCB since then. Building 50 appears to have retained its original configuration and design.”
“We are concluding Phase 1 of the asbestos abatement and building removal project which began in April 2011 and is expected to end in January 2013. During this time, 39 buildings and structures will be removed. We will soon be concluding the last of our environment site investigations, which have been conducted over the past 10 years. Our next focus is redevelopment planning to find uses for the site that are compatible with the site environmental conditions and alight with the interests of the community and Chevron. Chevron recognizes the importance of economic development and is preparing the property for future re-use. The process to determine future site use will include participation by Chevron, Town of Fishkill officials, state and federal regulatory agencies and the public.” said Hendrickson.
He continued, “remediation option will also be developed to address site environmental conditions ad needed. There will be a Phase 2 asbestos abatement and building removal project to address some of the remaining buildings and structures on the property and the building slabs that have been left from the building removed in phase 1. The timing of this phase has not been scheduled.”
Hendrickson said future site environmental remediation would be conducted to meet New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approval conditions.
The Phase 1 asbestos abatement and building removal project began in April 2011 with eight people working on the project and increased to a high of approximately 61 people, not including four Chevron contracted personnel providing project management and demolition/safety oversight, Hendrickson stated.
“As work has begun to wind down, manpower needs have declined. There are currently 11 workers on site of which seven are from the local union hall) and an additional four Chevron contracted personnel providing project management and demolition/safety oversight,” said Hendrickson.
He continued, “To date approximately 900 truckloads of construction and demolition debris, friable and non-friable asbestos contain material, and universal wastes have been removed from the properly for offsite disposal. Additionally, 414 truckloads of recyclable material have been sent from the site.”
Hendrickson said the other large project being worked on was on the site of Fishkill Creek.
“The dam project strengthened the dam and improved the associated buildings so that hydroelectric power can be generated at the facility in the future,” he said.
Hendrickson said the following is a short summation of the improvements:
Restoration of a group of the original mill building continues. This phase of restoration involves making sure the buildings remain weather proof and structurally sound. All of the rooks were evaluated and restored along with window repairs and some interior reconstruction. This restoration is being done according to the site plans approved by the Town of Fishkill in the Spring of 2012.
The dam has also been structurally upgraded along with the chambers that allow for restoration of hydropower. In the future a portion of this complex of buildings is planned to be used for the operation of this hydropower operation.
“An arborist continues to work with use on the property in order to ensure that as many of the trees as possible remain in good health and continue to enhance the property. In addition, groups of new trees have been planted in the areas that have improved some of the perimeter portions of the property, including in front of the Building 50 and along the entrance to the former tank farm on Washington Avenue,” he said.
Hendrickson stated, “Safety is critically important to Chevron. There were 43,7581 man-hours worked in 2011 and 16,560 man-hours worked in 2012 as of November 23, 2012, all the while without a recordable incident.”
Hendrickson said focus would continue to be the health and safety of the community.
“We have worked very hard to conduct the building removal in a way that minimizes impact to the local community and ensure that it is done in an environmentally responsible way,” Hendrickson said.
The facility operated from 1931 until its closure in 2003, according to glenhammills.com.
