Detroit incinerator nears its demo date

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says the city’s government has made arrangements with Carelton, Michigan-based Homrich to begin demolition of an abandoned municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator “within the next few weeks.”

The Detroit Building Authority selected Homrich following a bidding process. Per the Homrich proposal, the mayor’s office says the demolition work will generate approximately $1.3 million in revenue for the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority (GDRRA) from the salvaging of metals and other marketable materials.

The demolition process is expected to start in June and to be complete “within approximately six months from the time it begins, starting with the demolition of the lower trash processing portion of the complex and culminating dramatically with the implosion of the smokestack later this year,” Duggan’s office says.

“The presence of this incinerator has been a real pain point for this community because it was another example of a health hazard being placed in a lower-income community of color,” Duggan says. “We worked hard behind the scenes to get the incinerator shut down, and now residents of this neighborhood will finally be able to say goodbye to it forever.”

Since it opened in 1989 at a cost of approximately $500 million until it closed in 2019, the incinerator drew criticism from residents living nearby, citing health concerns, odors and emissions. During the last five years of its operation, the incinerator reportedly exceeded state pollution emission standards more than 750 times, according to the mayor’s office.

“Today’s announcement and subsequent demolition of the incinerator means further relief and hopefully a source of healing for impacted residents,” City Council President Mary Sheffield says.

In 2018, the Duggan administration says it began pressuring Detroit Thermal Energy (DTE), which operated the incinerator, to make upgrades to the facility to improve its emissions. Faced with the additional cost of operating, DTE instead agreed in 2019 to cease incinerator operations.

With a demolition contract now in place, the city is arranging for DTE to cut power to the complex by the end of this week. Arrangements are being made to maintain power to the adjacent facility that soon will house the new headquarters and shelter for animal care and control expected to open later next year.

Once that power issue is resolved, Homrich will be able to obtain its demolition permit, which the mayor’s office says “is expected to occur within the following week.” Once it has the permit, “Homrich will be able to mobilize and begin work almost immediately,” the city adds.

Initial work will consist of removing metal and other marketable materials from the facility before beginning active demolition on the processing facility portion of the complex. Demolition of that portion is expected to be completed this fall and implosion of the smokestack, which will complete the demolition, is expected by the end of this year.

The city says it currently is exploring potential future uses of the incinerator property.