The Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of a $400,000 grant to help develop a recreational trail and brownfield along the Schuylkill River as part of the Schuylkill and Delaware Riverfront revitalization project.

Partners in the project include the City of Philadelphia, Tacony Civic Association, Tacony Business Association and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council as well as Transactionable Property Solutions, George Deimer and George Deimer Jr., and K. Hovanian and Westrum Residential Development.

A related designation as a Brownfield Action Team for both the Schuylkill River and northern Delaware River sections of Philadelphia's River City Project will help accelerate redevelopment deals and gives investors the incentive they need to clean up contaminated industrial sites.

The grant was awarded to the Schuylkill River Development Corp., a nonprofit community organization that is redeveloping the Schuylkill River corridor with plans to create a 14-foot wide asphalt recreation trail along a section of the east bank of the river in the 34th Street/Grays Ferry Avenue area. The trail will provide recreational riverfront access that is now lacking.

Schuylkill River Development Corp. will use the funding to conduct environmental assessment and remediation on the land where the trail will be located. Grading and landscaping will be done on land adjacent to the trail, which ultimately will connect to the Schuylkill Trail and Schuylkill River Park and to Bartram's Garden on the west side of the river, about a quarter mile downstream.

The funding comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfield Revitalization Act, which provides money to states to pay for assessments and cleanups. Pennsylvania has received about $1 million from EPA in each of the last three fiscal years.

Visit DEP’s Land Recycling webpage for more information on BAT designations.

NewsClip: State to Clean Up City Riverfront

2/24/2006