All News Releases By Date

One Cleanup Program Launched For PA Hazardous Waste Sites / -State-EPA Agreement is First in the Nation

Release Date: 4/21/2004
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548

Contact; David Sternberg (215) 814-5548
PHILADELPHIA - The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania today entered into a groundbreaking agreement that will help clean up contaminated, sometimes abandoned sites, quicker and cheaper so that they can be returned to productive use sooner.

“One of Philadelphia’s wisest residents, Benjamin Franklin, said ‘Time is money’. In this case, our new, improved cleanup program promises to save communities both time and money,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA Regional Administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

Today’s agreement, which will create a single coordinated DEP-EPA cleanup program is the first One Cleanup agreement of its kind nationally. The agreement will streamline the process for the cleanup and redevelopment of Brownfields. Brownfields are properties where redevelopment and revitalization have been hindered by real or perceived contamination.

This one-stop-shopping approach to cleanup and revitalization helps communities, builders, lenders, and businesses get much of what they need from a DEP-EPA coordinated program to turn neighborhood eyesores into community assets, restoring hope and creating opportunity for the people who live nearby.

Money invested in brownfields cleanups pays significant dividends for the taxpayers and the environment. Every dollar the Federal government spends to restore a brownfield leverages almost two-and-half dollars in private investment. In addition, every acre of brownfield that is reused saves 4.5 acres of precious green space.