Federal regulators have endorsed the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority's plans to restart asbestos removal and eventually demolish the vacant Kensington Heights towers.

Four months after charging the authority with violating air pollution laws, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the authority's proposed approach to complete the work, the authority announced Friday.

Having been faced with potential fines of up to $37,500 a day for each violation, the authority is prepared to resume abatement and demolition of the six buildings, its top official said.

"We've had some setbacks, but the BMHA board made it clear that getting this job done correctly and as rapidly as possible is a high priority," Executive Director Dawn E. Sanders said in a written statement.

Other government approvals are still required before the work can begin, including those of the state Department of Labor.

Neither regulators nor the authority has released details about the plans. A copy of the plans was requested from regulators and authority representatives, but was not immediately available.

Housing officials will hold a series of public meetings to inform neighbors about what the next steps will be at the shuttered public housing development. Specific dates for the meetings were not announced.

A compliance order issued by the EPA charged the authority with violating the federal Clean Air Act, and required the authority to complete abatement and demolish the structures on the 17-acre site on Fillmore Avenue behind Erie County Medical Center.

In early August, a 23-count federal indictment charged two contractors and nine individuals involved in the asbestos removal project.

Sanders said the authority and the EPA have been going back and forth discussing what should be in the plans, and the most recent work proposal from the authority was sent Nov. 17.

Sanders said she does not expect the authority to face any fines and stressed that it will comply with federal and state standards.

When asked whether fines are still possible, EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez said the agency "does not speculate about potential enforcement matters."

abesecker@buffnews.comnull