By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The State Assembly, Senate and Governor Pataki reached agreement Wednesday on funding for clean-up of 52 brownfields across the state. That project will include several brownfield sites in the Western New York region.
State Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte says in her district, the money will be provided for clean up of a Niagara Falls brownfield.
"This money will be greatly appreciated by the Highland Avenue Community Revitalization group that has been working for the past few years to gain the type of funding they need to clean up these sites," DelMonte said. "Highland Avenue is surrounded by a variety of abandoned industrial businesses. So certainly the money will go a long way to help them reclaim those properties to be used for other purposes."
Other local brownfield sites to benefit include South Buffalo, Amherst, Jamestown, Dunkirk and Olean.
The state brown field agreement promises to make $30 million available to local communities to clean up and develop strategies for re-use of old industrial sites.