Demolition of the former Grand Traverse Overall Supply Company building adjacent to Norris Elementary is scheduled to begin as soon as Dec. 27, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

THE BUILDING that formerly housed the Grand Traverse Overall Supply Company on Cherry Bend Road in Elmwood Township will be demolished, with work expected to begin later this month.

About a dozen people attended an informational meeting last week at the Elmwood Township hall for an update on cleanup activities at the site, where commercial laundering and dry cleaning took place in the 1960s and 70s.

In 1978, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality discovered that groundwater in the area was contaminated with volatile organic compounds that included trichloreoethylene and perchloroethylene. At least 10 wells were found to be contaminated, including a well used by Norris Elementary next door.

Cleanup of the site was launched and in 1992 the federal agency conducted a study that showed the initial cleanup of the site had addressed the threat to the public and the environment. However, a MDEQ study in 2001 prompted the EPA to take another look at the site and determined that not only does additional contamination remain on site under the former Grand Traverse Overall building, but is also moving toward nearby Grand Traverse Bay in a groundwater contamination plume.

Michelle Jasper, on-scene coordinator for the Superfund site, said beginning this week all remaining equipment and electrical components will be removed from the structure and deposited in an “approved facility” off site. The process will also require pumping materials from sumps and trenches within the building in which water and sludge remain. The entire property will be fenced, with tentative plans to begin demolition Dec. 27.

“We’re timing it to coincide with the holiday break,” Jasper said. “I can’t promise that we’ll have it done completely, but we hope to have it done before (Norris students) return to class in early January.”

In the event that removal of debris has not been completed by the time school resumes, Jasper said truck traffic in and out of the area will be limited to non-school hours. EPA staff will continue to monitor for a wide range of materials.

“We don’t anticipate finding anything, but we are going to keep the cement slab in place,” she said.

The next step, in late January and February, will involve having workers drill through the slab and sample the soil beneath, which Jasper said the agency has been “unable to characterize.” The process is expected to take four to six weeks.

Afterward, excavation equipment will be used to remove soils to an estimated depth of 13 to 15 feet — or some 1.5 to 2 million cubic yards. Soil will be collected in piles and covered and then transported to a hazardous waste disposal site in the Detroit area.

Remediation activities will likely include additional cleanup with groundwater extraction equipment, which will treat the affected groundwater and return it to the aquifer. Soil vapor extraction equipment, put in place at Norris Elementary and maintained by the MDEQ, will remain in place through July.

“The process requires public participation,” Jasper added.

Public comment for the proposed cleanup activity will be accepted through Dec. 31 and should be directed to: Don de Blasio, community involvement coordinator, Office of Public Affairs, EPA Region 5, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604. Comments may also be lodged by phone at 1-800-621-8431 ext. 64360, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.