With a crane that towered over the city skyline, D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. removed two water tanks from the roof of its former ice cream factory Tuesday.
"Prior to doing any demolition of the building, they have to remove any structures off the roof or anything attached to the facade," Donald J. Chescavage, city code enforcement officer, said Tuesday.
A crew from L&L Crane, Quakertown, Bucks County, set up its crane on the east end of the creamery at Mahantongo and Fifth streets. The crew was at the building until 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The crane is a Grove-brand TMS9000E. According to the website for ALL Crane Rental, Cleveland, Ohio, it's a 110-ton hydraulic truck crane with a 142-foot boom.
The state Department of Environmental Protection was not involved with the removal of the tanks, according to Colleen Connolly, a spokeswoman for DEP's Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre.
"The tanks that were located on the roof of the creamery building were privately owned and were used for the operation of the creamery, not as part of the public water system. So, the DEP nor it's Safe Drinking Water Program has any regulatory jurisdiction over them specifically and as such, is not involved in their removal," Connolly said Tuesday.
Chescavage wasn't sure where Yuengling would dispose of the remains of the tanks.
"They'll probably just scrap that. The code says whoever does the demolition has the salvage rights, unless the contract with the property owner reads differently," Chescavage said.
"The tanks must be disposed of, as per the demolition permit, like the rest of the debris from the site, at a proper disposal facility, a landfill, most likely," Connolly said.
Richard J. "Dick" Yuengling, president of D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc., could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
On May 6, Yuengling acquired a building permit from the city for a "demolition" project at the former Yuengling Creamery. Yuengling said he would hire a contractor to clean asbestos and lead paint from the building but would not confirm whether the building was going to be demolished.
AMC Enterprises, 147 W. Odgen St., Girardville, is the contractor in charge of the project, according to the permit.
DEP expected Yuengling to start the process of removing asbestos from the building May 20 but Yuengling hasn't started yet. DEP inspectors discovered this when they visited to site Monday, Connolly said.
"Apparently, Yuengling has not started to remove any asbestos yet. They are still assessing the extent of the asbestos contamination and how to safely remove it. Don't forget, they have until July 31, the time they indicated on their asbestos removal form, to remove the asbestos. So they are still on the clock," Connolly said.
Yuengling is required to contact DEP before it begins demolishing the building.
"DEP regulations require that the owner of any building or the contractor hired to demolish that building file a '10-day notice of demolition' when tearing down a structure. DEP has not received any such notice yet from Yuengling or its contractor regarding its old creamery. It is our understanding they are still cleaning out the asbestos on the property or are nearing completion of that," Connolly said.