Some of New York’s congressional representatives are using a Syracuse project as an example of why the U-S needs better toxic clean-up laws. A new federal proposal announced Monday could help the city’s economy.
Here on South Salina Street Syracuse Community Health Center Director Doctor Ruben Cowart has some big plans.
This building specifically is intended to be the beginning of the first phase of a multi-phased revitalization of the 800 block and 900 block of South Salina Street
The former industrial site and several others will be leveled to make way for what could eventually be four new health buildings. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s new brownfields development act could help
The bill (details here) recognizes that the costs of cleaning up past contamination is a barrier to bringing brownfield sites back into markets by increasing the funding ceiling for cleanup grants and allowing funds to be used also for administrative costs.
Assessing and cleanup of old industrial sites averages about 600-thousand dollars. The bill would make it easier to review sites, and helps with waterfront and green energy projects on brownfields.
Centerstate CEO’s Deb Warner has seen the potential of these cleanups.
We’ve been pretty great in our community at remediating some of these sites. We’ve got some astounding successes such as Onondaga lake, the Papermill Island in Baldwinsville and Destiny and others. But there are so many polluted sites that remain in our region but these sites can have a future if we have tools like this to work with
Gillibrand has bi-partisan support…Dan Maffei spnosors the bill in the house.
