Old Power Plant Tank Demolished

By Gordon HopkinsAccording to Mayor Spencer Brown, the demolition of the oil tank of Fairbury’s defunct Municipal Power Plant has been completed. The city hired Industrial Engineering Solutions (EIS) to decommission the power plant. EIS, in turn, hired oil collection contractors, Midwest Torching and Maintenance, to pump out and haul away the remaining oil in the storage tank, as well as dismantle and haul away the tank, itself.The process was complicated when the tank caught fire about noon on Thursday, January 26, 2023. According to Assistant Fire Chief Barry Schwab, “The contractors had decided to use a cutting torch, I believe, to open up a section of the tank a little more and facilitate the transfer of the oil. An errant spark landed in a part of the tank that proved to be readily combustible.”Schwab also said, “There was no spillage.”The exact amount of oil removed from the tank is unknown. Mayor Brown told FJN, “I am not sure I could get you a real accurate barrel count since some was already hauled off initially before demo started. I think there is 32 there right now.”One barrel of oil equals 42 gallons.Another concern raised by some individuals is what other chemicals might be in the tank, including possibly PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls). The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulates the handling of PCBs through the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976.Mayor Brown said, “The oil was tested and had a concentration of 4ppm PCBs which is well under the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) guideline of 50ppm (part per million) for oil.”

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