COLLEGE TOWNSHIP — Near the dilapidated blue and white factory buildings on Struble Road, identified by number, sidewalks are being constructed and, soon, young cheerleaders may practice in Building 10.

On another part of the Ruetgers Organics Corp. site, soil excavation is expected to begin next week, the final stage of cleanup at the plant that once produced the pesticides kepone and mirex.

The 32-acre site is referred to as Centre County Kepone by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nease Chemical Co. produced the pesticides there between 1958 and 1974.

The company disposed of waste in a spray irrigation field, concrete lagoon and earthen

lagoons, and stored waste in drums. After discovering leaks, the lagoon waste was placed in the two earthen lagoons and capped.

However, the waste did not solidify and leached into the groundwater.

Ruetgers, based in Mannheim, Germany, bought Nease in 1977 and inherited most of the environmental problems. The site was added to the EPA Superfund National Priorities List in 1983.

The plant was idled in 2004, when Ruetgers moved its operations to Georgia.

Ruetgers has paid about $20 million in cleanup costs during the past two decades, said president and CEO Rainer Domalski.

That includes a pump-and-treat system for the site’s groundwater, excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated sediments, fencing off the area, Spring Creek fish monitoring, and the coming soil excavation.

The soil removal, which is expected to cost $650,000, is set to begin next week or in July and conclude by summer’s end.

It includes moving about 8,700 cubic yards of contaminated soil to another part of the site, where two feet of clean soil will cover it and grass will grow, said EPA project Manager Frank Klanchar.

He noted there is not a human health risk driving the soil project, but an ecological risk, such as a bird eating a contaminated worm, and the chemicals moving up the food chain.

“There’ll be a nice, clean slate for redevelopment,” from where the contaminated soil is taken, Klanchar said.

A move for redevelopment has begun, with a deal in the works between Domalski and State College developer Christopher Kunes for the 19 acres of redevelopment property at the site.

“The redevelopment, we’re looking forward to that,” Domalski said.

Kunes, who could not be reached for comment, proposed modifying the 8,100- square-foot Building 10, a former warehouse.

A competitive cheerleading club would use the building for instruction and practice, but not competitive events.

The development plans also include minor parking changes and water and sewer connections at Struble Road.

As part of the Ruetgers site plan, a sidewalk was installed along Struble Road last fall. During the next week or so, work continues to extend the sidewalk up to and along First Avenue.

The township Planning Commission approved the plan Tuesday and sent it to council, after a presentation by Chad Stafford, project manager at PennTerra Engineering Inc., of State College.

He noted the project needs a waiver related to an ordinance requiring concrete sidewalk from the street to the building. The project plan includes such a pedestrian walkway, but it is not solely concrete.

“We believe we met the intent of the ordinance,” Stafford said, and Senior Planner Mark Holdren agreed.

Lemont resident Sue Smith expressed concern over the potential contamination of the buildings at the site.

“I’m concerned if it’s cleared up enough that it’s usable by children,” she said.

Stafford said Ruetgers received clearance last January from the EPA for the lot in question and the adjacent site occupied by Quality Roofing Supply, which operates in Building 14.

According to state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Daniel Spadoni, no cleanup work was necessary in or around Building 10.

He noted the focus of the cleanup is the 14-acre spray-field, south of the existing buildings.

“Building 10 is outside of the contaminant plume,” he said.

Klanchar said the groundwater pump-and-treat system on site collects that parcel’s groundwater, too, and that Ruetgers has done a vapor intrusion study, looking at the potential for volatile organics to vaporize from the groundwater, travel through soil and into basements.

Because of the ongoing groundwater treatment and contaminated soil remaining in place, the EPA will review the site every five years to ensure proper operations. So far, so good.

“I would say the systems that were put in place are operating as designed,” Klanchar said.

Jessica VanderKolk can be reached at 235-3910.