Current and previous owners of the former English Station power plant site in New Haven have been issued an administrative order requiring them to take action to clean up that property, potentially contaminated with cancer-causing PCBs.

The property at 510 Grand Ave. contains a former electric generating plant and a warehouse.  The parties named in the order include the current owners, Asnat Realty LLC of Bayside, N.Y., and Evergreen Power LLC of Wilmington, Md., as well as Quinnipiac Energy LLC; Grant Mackay Demolition; and the United Illuminating Company, which previously owned the site.   The order requires the parties to make a full investigation of the contamination on and emanating from the site, submit a remediation plan for Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) approval that is in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, and remediate the site in accordance with the approved plan.

"English Station has been a potential source of pollution to Fair Haven and the waters of the state for too long.  It must be cleaned-up by all those responsible for its present condition,” Attorney General George Jepsen said in a statement.

The plant is shut down and access to the property has previously been limited pending submission of a remediation plan to clean up extensive contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls, a known carcinogen.

A cease- and-desist order issued by DEEP against the current owners and their contractors in February 2012, required the buildings and grounds to be secured and access strictly limited to individuals involved in investigation and remediation activities.

The DEEP issued the cease- and-desist order to block demolition of the plant and to assure that contamination would not be spread. Until the site is decontaminated, the agency said, demolition would create a significant risk of spreading toxic chemicals and pose an imminent threat of harm to public health and the environment.

In December, after a series of incidents in which trespassers and vandals gained access to the site in an effort to remove metal piping and other materials with value, DEEP and the Attorney General’s Office obtained a court order requiring the owners to provide around-the-clock security until an acceptable security plan is in place.

Materials taken from English Station are potentially covered with PCB contamination, which could pose health risks to anyone who handles or is exposed to them.