Cleanup of Healy School property underway as DEP arrives on site

FALL RIVER — For more than seven months, residents in the Healy School neighborhood have been living with a demolition gone bad, with piles of contaminated debris and fear of air-borne asbestos at the site.

But on Tuesday morning, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and environmental contractor, Moran Environmental Recovery, arrived to start the process to clean up the former school site.

Last June, demolition work at the former Healy School, 726 Hicks St., was halted and DEP issued a cease and desist order to Spindle City Homes, which owns the property, and Miranda Construction Co., the company hired to perform the demolition.

Spindle City, owned by Eric Resendes, was ordered at the time to clean up the asbestos-covered debris and wet down and cover debris piles on the site and to hire a licensed asbestos abatement company to clean the site and dispose of the debris.

Last month, after Spindle City decided it couldn’t handle the cleanup, DEP stepped in to address the situation.

DEP spokesman Edmund Coletta in an email said at this time DEP and the environmental contractor are focusing on consolidating the piles of debris and covering the asbestos-containing demolition materials.

A crew was at the site in the morning erecting a chain link fence around the perimeter of the approximately 1 acre property, Coletta said was to limit access and trespassers.

“MassDEP has issued a request for assistance to the U. S. EPA for removal and disposal of the debris. We have not heard back from EPA,” according to Coletta.

It could take one month just to consolidate, cover and secure the debris, with Coletta noting that timeline is weather-dependent, which could delay that portion of the project.

Moran Environmental Recovery estimated the consolidation work itself is $80,000.

Coletta said that ultimately Spindle City will be responsible for the cost of the initial phase of the cleanup and DEP will seek to recover costs which could amount to triple the cost in damages. It amounts to upwards of $240,000.

Asked if Spindle City is facing any other consequences, Coletta said that all “enforcement options remain on the table.”

Glenn Hathaway, director of inspectional services, said he was at the site earlier in the day. With the involvement of the state and government, the city has no role.

However, Hathaway said he’s received multiple complaints of rat sightings in the neighborhood and ask the crew to notify him if there are any indications of rat infestation at the site.

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.