Ameren Illinois moved into a new multi-million dollar facility in Macomb’s business park over the summer, leaving behind a century-old worksite. Now the company is working to clean up its old facility at the corner of Calhoun St. and N. Campbell St. near downtown Macomb.
The site has a long history of providing power to the city. It used to be a gasification plant when the city used gas lights, before Macomb had electricity. That old gasification plant left the site contaminated with hazardous materials which Ameren is paying to clean up.
Mayor Mike Inman said building demolition is underway and will continue through the spring. He said the area will be mitigated of contaminates piece by piece.
“There will be essentially large tents put up that encapsulate the environment as they remove ground contaminates in the soil,” Inman said. “That will more than likely be taken to a hazardous material landfill.”
Inman said Ameren knows exactly where contaminates are on the property because a survey was completed about three years ago.
Inman said the site should be a green space by this time next year. He said after that, the city will offer to help market it for potential development.
