Remaining piece of former Cheswick power plant scheduled for demolition on Sunday

Neighbors in Springdale are preparing for the final, much more passive demolition this weekend of the last remaining piece of the former Cheswick power plant. Instead of blowing it up, crews will pull it down.

No one who lives near the former Cheswick power plant forgets the summer day nearly two years ago when the implosions left Springdale residents cleaning up dust and debris for weeks. It sparked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to issue a nearly $40,000 fine.

And now the only remaining building, the 13-story boiler house, will disappear differently.

"They could have had this all done when they brought the smokestacks down and they were procrastinating with it and they're just dragging it out," said Norm Delay, who lives directly across the street on Duquesne.

He said the previous implosions caused a big power surge, frying some of his neighbors' new appliances. Other neighbors dealt with shattered windows and beyond.

"We on this street got pretty lucky with it, it was mainly the people that were off the main street that got all the damage done to their homes," he said. 

Springdale borough will not use explosives this Sunday and crews will instead use a cable-pull technique. This decision comes after more than a dozen neighbors filed a lawsuit upset about damages and their health after the previous implosions.

"I've been dealing with that black soot for years and years and that's when the plant was operating. What happened when they brought the stacks down, you know, some people depending on what direction you are living in, they got quite a bit of it," said resident BeBe Szalai.

Szalai said she never wanted any of this, but she supports this approach. 

"OK, that's fine, as long as nobody gets hurt," she said. 

Both neighbors said they'll watch this chapter in their community close for good Sunday.

People who live in the area can monitor the Springdale Borough Facebook page this weekend. They'll announce the official time as Sunday gets closer, but right now, it's expected to happen between 10 and noon. The direction of the wind will impact the timing of everything.