Miller Chemical fire strikes $2.2 million from Adams County tax roll
Photo by Clare Becker, Evening Sun
The remnants of Miller Chemical’s facility are visible from Radio Road on July 7.
(Adams County) — The Miller Chemical and Fertilizer plant, located on Radio Road in Conewago Township, was removed from the Adams County tax roll this week.
The county previously valued the facility at $2.2 million but will no longer be able to collect taxes on the property since the June 8 fire leveled the building, said Daryl Crum, director of tax services.
Read more about the Miller Chemical fire and its effects here.
Commissioners approved the Miller Chemical-free tax roll at a Wednesday meeting.
Though Adams County has approximately $9.19 billion in taxable real estate as of July 1, a $28 million increase from 2014, the $2.2 million loss will be felt the most by the municipality and school district, Crum said.
Conewago Township officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
An exact figure for the revenue lost by the Conewago Valley School District was not immediately available, Supt. Russell Greenholt said Wednesday. However, the loss has increased his anxiety over what he said was an already tight budget.
“With our budget situation right now, any loss hurts,” he said. “Is it going to be a situation where we have to change some things? No, but we will have to monitor and make sure we are keeping close track of the budget this year.”
Though the building was assessed at $2.2 million, the fire caused approximately $20 million in damages, Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Bradley Dunham said in a news release Tuesday.
State police investigated the fire for nearly a month before Dunham was able to confirm details of the blaze, which took more than 12 hours to extinguish.
The fire was believed to have originated in a packaging room located in the southern end of the facility, near where electrical service enters that part of the plant, Dunham said in the release.
Still, the exact cause of the fire could not be determined because the damage was too extensive, the release states.
The blaze, which started in the early hours of the morning, awoke neighbors with explosions and thick smoke. Firefighters were still clearing smoldering rubble days later. Runoff from firefighting efforts caused temporary contamination of nearby waterways, environmental officials said.
More on the chemical fire
Read more on the fire and its repercussions here.
The fire greatly impacted the Conewago Creek ecosystem.
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