Washington, DC –
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today urged the Environment Protection
Agency (EPA) to provide federal funding for the City of Ogdensburg. The
federal dollars from the Brownfield’s Program would be used to clean up
the city’s waterfront area for redevelopment, specifically the former
Standard Shade Roller property.
In her letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Senator Gillibrand wrote,
“The brownfields along Ogdensburg’s waterfront are currently preventing
the development of valuable properties for increased use in the
promotion of the region’s beauty for tourism purposes. This funding
will allow the City to make critical investments into its land for
economic development and environmental restoration.”
“The
opportunity for us in Brownfield remediation is to focus on the sites
along the St. Lawrence and Oswegatchie Rivers and convert them to
desperately needed, quality, market rate and affordable housing and
mixed use buildings,” said Arthur Sciorra, City Manager. “In
today’s economy, the most important thing is to make sure that our
local residents are able to take advantage of the economic
opportunities created through programs such as the Brownfield Cleanup
Program and the Revolving Loan Fund. This can result in quality green
jobs, including weatherization, installation of solar panels, and the
latest sustainable construction techniques.”
Ogdensburg
has applied for two grants within the Brownsfield Program, the Cleanup
Grant and the Revolving Loan Grant. The first will fund the cleanup of
the Shade Roller factory. The site is contaminated by metal as well as
volatile and semi-volatile compounds, including petroleum and
hydrocarbons. The grant would include $127,500 to remove approximately
1,100 tons of contaminated soil, $75,000 to identify and remove
hazardous materials from on-site buildings, and $10,000 for ground
water monitoring.
The
second application will allow Ogdensburg to establish and capitalize on
a revolving loan fund to make loans and provide sub-grants to
landowners and developers to carry out brownfield cleanup activities.