BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A $35 million cleanup job to remove hazardous coal ash from a downtown Belleville site will soon begin after a brief delay.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports Ameren Illinois had previously said it hoped a tent would be erected over the former Belleville Gas Light & Coke Co. by the end of May to contain hazardous materials as they are being removed from the ground. But spokesman Brian Bretsch says other cleanup operations by Ameren around Illinois contributed to a delay as did the need to cap and reroute a storm sewer line that ran through the property.
The project is expected to be completed in 2018. Belleville now owns the property. Officials say no decision has been made on how to develop the land when the cleanup is completed.
