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Stimulus prods Waukegan lakefront - fedupinwaukegan - 02-20-2010 Stimulus prods Waukegan lakefront By Mick Zaawislak | Daily Herald Staff Contact writer Waukegan Mayor Bob Sabonjian and state and federal officials on Friday announce demolition of Outboard Marine Corporation Plant 2. Paul Valade | Staff Photographer Published: 2/19/2010 3:06 PM | Updated: 2/19/2010 5:03 PM A major remnant of Waukegan's industrial past will be razed and its toxic legacy removed, providing a clean slate for a new vision along Lake Michigan. Top federal and state environmental officials gathered Friday outside the abandoned Outboard Marine Corporation Plant No. 2 to celebrate its pending demolition. The high-level attention for this 60-acre Superfund site came as a result of an infusion of $18.5 million in federal stimulus funds to pay the majority of the demolition and cleanup costs. "We know it's a long-term struggle, but this building coming down is a milestone," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On the anniversary of the Recovery Act, federal officials have been noting specific examples of how the funds have stimulated the economy. The OMB project, one of 51 Superfund sites across the country to benefit, would not be under way without those funds, officials agree. The funding allows the city to "accelerate its own ambitious plans for lakefront and harbor redevelopment," Stanislaus said. Removal by the end of the year of 600,000-square-foot building on Sea Horse Drive is considered another key in Waukegan's grand plan to reclaim and transform its Lake Michigan frontage. "It's a big deal. This is where it all starts," Mayor Bob Sabonjian said. "One of these days, it'll all be gone and you can look to the lakefront from where we're standing." The OMB plant on the north end of the harbor, operated from 1948 until late 2000. The company declared bankruptcy, then abandoned the plant in 2002. It was subsequently acquired by the city. While it was churning out boat motors, the plant during the 1960s and `70s also discharged hydraulic and lubricating oils that was the source of an estimated 1 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls found in contaminated soil at the site and in sediment in Waukegan Harbor. Leaking tanks of degreasing fluid and trichloroethylene over the years also created a widespread plume of contaminated groundwater and a pool of the chemical beneath the building. Asbestos containing materials are being removed from the building before it is demolished. Then, the concrete foundation and contaminated soil will be removed. Non-contaminated concrete and steel will be recycled. Plant 2 is one of four parcels associated with the OMC cleanup. The others are: Waukegan Manufactured Gas and Coke Plant; containment cells for PCBs created when the harbor was cleaned in the early 1990s; and, the harbor itself. Further harbor clean up was necessitated because of changes in federal regulations regarding allowable PCB levels. That $34 million project is anticipated to occur in 2011. The OMB site is part of a city redevelopment plan, adopted in 2003, for 1,400 acres along two miles of shoreline. OMB Plant 2 was targeted for residential uses and open space, but the plan may have to be adjusted because of economic changes. Sabonjian estimated it could be four to six years before development occurs there. "As Waukegan prospers, the region prospers," he said. "Everyone here has a stake in what's about to happen." <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=360558&src=3">http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=360558&src=3</a><!-- m -->