Posted on 12.20.16
EPA finishes Carville site cleanup
Source: http://www.leaderherald.com, December 20, 2016
By: Mike Anich
City to take over old leather building
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday finished cleaning up the closed, former Carville National Leather Corp. building, which the city will eventually take over.
The Common Council first heard in July that the EPA was going to clean up numerous barrels of chemical contaminants at the abandoned site. Several 35-gallon drums of chemicals — left behind by the owners — had been tipped over by vandals.
City Engineer Christopher Vose told the council Monday night at City Hall that the EPA finally finished its cleanup at the former Carville building at 10 Knox Ave.
Vose said he received a report from the head engineer involved in the remediation, but he hasn’t been able to review it yet.
“I think that’s going to be their final action,” Vose said.
Vose said it is his understanding that EPA will not be taking down the Carville building, which is “unfortunate for us.”
“At least it will be a clean building when we take it over,” the city engineer said.
The former Carville National Leather Corp. was shut down by its owners in August 2013. The financial burden of cleaning up the Carville site did not fall on the city; the EPA took the lead role after an initial investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. But the city will be taking over the building through tax foreclosure.
Carville National Leather Corp. — founded by Hugh Carville in 1967 — had about a dozen employees at the time it closed. At its height in the early 1980s, the company had about 150 employees. The company started in New Jersey, but moved to Johnstown in 1976.
When it was in business, Carville’s product line ranged from technical leathers to economical commodity leathers. The company also reconditioned — doing finish removal and recoloring — virtually any type of leather. Leathers produced by Carville were typically used in the footwear, automobile and aircraft interior, garment, handbag, upholstery and small- leather-goods industries.
The company lost much business when the national economy soured with the major recession of the late 2000s, owners said at the time of closure. The Carville building also caught fire three times from 2009 to the time it closed. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy.
The building on the city’s west side is the former Knox Gelatine Factory, a major employer through much of the 20th century.
City Engineer Christopher Vose told the council Monday night at City Hall that the EPA finally finished its cleanup at the former Carville building at 10 Knox Ave.
Vose said he received a report from the head engineer involved in the remediation, but he hasn’t been able to review it yet.
“I think that’s going to be their final action,” Vose said.
Vose said it is his understanding that EPA will not be taking down the Carville building, which is “unfortunate for us.”
“At least it will be a clean building when we take it over,” the city engineer said.
The former Carville National Leather Corp. was shut down by its owners in August 2013. The financial burden of cleaning up the Carville site did not fall on the city; the EPA took the lead role after an initial investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. But the city will be taking over the building through tax foreclosure.
Carville National Leather Corp. — founded by Hugh Carville in 1967 — had about a dozen employees at the time it closed. At its height in the early 1980s, the company had about 150 employees. The company started in New Jersey, but moved to Johnstown in 1976.
When it was in business, Carville’s product line ranged from technical leathers to economical commodity leathers. The company also reconditioned — doing finish removal and recoloring — virtually any type of leather. Leathers produced by Carville were typically used in the footwear, automobile and aircraft interior, garment, handbag, upholstery and small- leather-goods industries.
The company lost much business when the national economy soured with the major recession of the late 2000s, owners said at the time of closure. The Carville building also caught fire three times from 2009 to the time it closed. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy.
The building on the city’s west side is the former Knox Gelatine Factory, a major employer through much of the 20th century.
