Charah Solutions, Inc. announced Thursday its acquisition of the Cheswick Generating Station, the Lefever Ash Landfill, and the Monarch Wastewater Treatment Facility from GenOn and will begin environmental remediation and sustainable redevelopment of the Pennsylvania properties when the deal closes.
The asset purchase agreement, signed in December 2021, will take place in early April 2022 after the Cheswick Generating Station ceases electrical generation operations. Charah Solutions has already started the redevelopment and remediation planning efforts and will begin the physical work after the deal closes. GenOn will maintain responsibility for the station while continuing to operate the plant, the landfill, and the wastewater treatment facility through closing, the companies said.
“This is the end of an era for Cheswick, and the retirement of this facility reflects the changes occurring in our nation and around the world,” states David Freysinger, GenOn CEO. “We are delighted to reach agreement with Charah Solutions as the Cheswick Plant approaches the end of its useful life. This transaction will bring Charah Solutions’ expertise to bear in redeveloping the property for the benefit of the community.”
Through Charah’s subsidiary, Charah Environmental Redevelopment Group, LLC (CERG), the Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale, Pa., will be shut down and decommissioned as a coal power plant in March 2022. CERG will also handle the remediation of the site’s two ash ponds and perform all environmental remediation and redevelopment work.
At the Lefever Ash Landfill, CERG will take responsibility for the closure design of the coal combustion residuals and residual waste site, perform the remediation closure work and handle post-closure monitoring of the landfill. And at the Monarch Wastewater Treatment Facility in Springdale, CERG will be responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of the facility, as well as for compliance with all applicable environmental regulations for the plant.