On August 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented Heritage Conservancy in Southern Bucks County with its Excellence in Site Reuse Award for outstanding work in the reuse of the Croydon TCE Superfund Site.
The award is part of EPA’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative, launched in 1999 with the goal of returning formerly contaminated lands to long-term sustainable and productive reuse for communities across the country.
“Today, we get to talk about the incredible opportunities that Superfund sites offer for rejuvenating properties and revitalizing neighborhoods once they are cleaned up,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio.
Before the agency’s Redevelopment Initiative, sites were cleaned up but not necessarily put back into productive use. By considering reuse early in the site cleanup process, the Redevelopment Initiative helps ensure that desired future uses are compatible with site cleanup remedies and removes barriers that could keep areas vacant or underused.
The Croydon TCE Site, located in a 3.5 square mile area within the southernmost portion of Bristol Township, Bucks County, includes residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
The Site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in June 1986 after elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in groundwater. EPA’s cleanup remedy included connecting impacted residents to public water and constructing a groundwater extraction and treatment system to clean up the contamination.
Returning Superfund sites back to productive use has resulted in dramatic changes in communities by improving the quality of life, raising property values, and providing needed services to communities.
Heritage Conservancy acquired 80 acres of the Croydon Site in 2016 and operates a preserve that is one of the last remaining coastal plain forests in Pennsylvania.
The preserve provides publicly accessible green space in a developed area of Bucks County and is inhabited by many mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Heritage Conservancy also works closely with the local Little League and the nearby Keystone Elementary School to provide field trips and educational opportunities.
“Green spaces that exist in highly populated areas are some of the most important natural lands that exist today, because they provide connections to nature for people who would not otherwise be able to experience it,” said Heritage Conservancy President Jeffrey Marshall.
As part of the commemoration, EPA released SRI’s 20th Anniversary Report.
For more information about Superfund redevelopment, please visit EPA’s Redevelopment webpage.
For more information on regional redevelopment efforts, read the EPA Region II 2018 Redevelopment Beneficial Effects report. Visit the Heritage Conservancy website for more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved.
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