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Montgomery County, Pa. Gets $110,000 for Brownfields Redevelopment

Release Date: 10/11/2002
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman awarded $110,000 to Montgomery County, Pa. to help the community redevelop its brownfields – abandoned or idled industrial properties where real or perceived contamination has been a barrier to redevelopment.

“The continuing success of brownfield revitalization demonstrates that environmental protection and economic development can go hand-in-hand,” said Whitman.

Today, EPA awarded the Montgomery County Brownfields Pilot $110,000 in supplemental funding for continuing their successful brownfields redevelopment efforts. As with EPA's assessment grants, this additional funding was awarded through a competitive process.

The funds will be used to to assess brownfields properties and finalize the county’s redevelopment plans. More specifically, the county has targeted several brownfields properties throughout Norristown and Pottstown, placing them on its brownfields inventory developed in 1999.

Today’s grant supplements two previous EPA awards. The initial award in 1999 for a $200,000 brownfields assessment demonstration pilot was to develop an inventory of potential brownfield sites. In 2002, a $1 million revolving loan fund pilot was awarded to the county to cleanup brownfield sites.

The Montgomery County brownfields program identifies potential redevelopment opportunities with the private sector and facilitates community participation. The county is focused on industrial site reuse and green space development. Specifically, the county and brownfields program are active partners in the 42-mile Schuylkill River Greenway effort to restore and reopen the banks of this once-scenic river, which has become largely inaccessible to the public.

Since 1993, EPA has taken significant steps to clean up brownfields and return them to productive use, awarding more that $157 million in grants to cities, counties, tribes, states, non-profits and educational institutions nationwide.

In January 2002, President George W. Bush signed new brownfields legislation. The law will significantly expand the current program and doubles EPA brownfields funding by fiscal year 2003. The new law also provides liability protection for prospective purchasers and authorizes funding for state and local programs that assess and clean up brownfields.

In a recent study done by George Washington University, it was found that for every one acre of brownfields reused, 4.5 acres of green space is saved.

The site where the event was held today is the former Nicolette Industries Site. It is
a 3.5-acre property located in Norristown along the Schuykill River that was once used to manufacture asbestos and asbestos-related products. The site was abandoned in the 1980's and was placed on the county’s brownfields inventory.

In 2001, The O’Neill Properties Group bought the property, and plans are now underway redevelop it into a mixed-use office and industrial complex. The property, located within Norristown’s Redevelopment Area and state-designated Keystone Opportunity Zone, has so far undergone assessments by EPA and the state.

To learn more about EPA’s brownfields program visit our website at:https://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm
http://www.epa.gov