Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast - Industry News and Updates

State chips in $10M for redevelopment of central Pa. manufacturing plant

08 May 2025 9:11 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

The state plans to invest millions of dollars to rescue a large industrial site with massive machines “as large as a small house”.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has awarded more than $10 million in grant and loan money to assist in the future redevelopment of the former manufacturing plant in Carlisle.

Long-awaited White Oak remediation coming by end of the year

07 May 2025 9:12 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

PLAINVILLE — Soil remediation at the former White Oak construction site is set to begin this fall, according to Town Council Chair Chris Wazorko.

Trump’s EPA Shifts to Make Superfund Cleanups a Central Mission

07 May 2025 9:10 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

The EPA is planning to move faster on cleaning up hundreds of contaminated sites across the nation during the second Trump administration, the agency’s administrator says.

“Each Superfund site has its own unique circumstances and challenges, but the overall posture of the Trump EPA is that we want to expedite every timeline possible,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an email to Bloomberg Law.

EPA outlines steps to address PFAS contamination

05 May 2025 11:51 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

The US Environmental Protection Agency on April 28 announced a series of steps it plans to take to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

In a news release, the agency lists 21 actions across three “principles”: strengthening the science, fulfilling statutory obligations and enhancing communication, and building partnerships.

NJ orders Woodbridge company to clean up illegal dumping, pay $200K in fines

05 May 2025 11:49 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

WOODBRIDGE – The state is going to court to force a township company and its owner to comply with court orders dating to 2018 for illegal dumping and pay nearly $200,000 in penalties.

N.J. officials target 12-acre ‘illegal junkyard’ in environmental crackdown

05 May 2025 11:45 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

A 12-acre property in Kearny, described by state officials as an “enormous illegal junkyard,” is the focus of a new environmental enforcement lawsuit.

How 2,600 CT contaminated properties could be improved under proposed legislation

04 May 2025 11:47 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

HARTFORD — There were only a few lawmakers in the state Senate chamber the other afternoon when veteran Sen. Joan Hartley introduced a bill that was 45 years in the making and now more than five years into developing a balance between potentially expensive environmental cleanups and economic development opportunities.

Pa. launches $4.4M lead testing, remediation program for schools. Should schools be testing at all?

04 Apr 2025 11:53 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania officials last week launched a $4.4 million lead testing and remediation program for schools and childcare facilities across the state.

And while health advocates are happy for recognition of the problem of lead in school water, some say it's so pervasive that action, rather than testing, is what's needed.

RIDC and the Pittsburgh Technology Center, setting the standard for brownfield redevelopment — Rebuilding Pittsburgh – Part 2

03 Apr 2025 11:56 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

This is the second in a series of excerpts from “Rebuilding Pittsburgh: RIDC and the Transformation of the Steel City.”

For the past 70 years, the Regional industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC) has played an integral role in rebuilding the Pittsburgh region’s economy. A new book, “Rebuilding Pittsburgh: RIDC and the Transformation of the Steel City,” written by award-winning journalist Jeffery Fraser and edited by Pittsburgh Quarterly publisher Douglas Heuck, showcases RIDC’s efforts to transform abandoned steel mills and industrial sites into thriving business and technology parks – using a unique, mission-driven approach that combines economic development advocacy with community and regional revitalization.

Massachusetts housing crunch requires 'more muscular' state action, Congressman says

03 Apr 2025 11:54 AM | Michael Lazo (Administrator)

The state will have to take "more muscular action" to facilitate construction of hundreds of thousands of new housing units in the next decade to meet demand, according to Congressman Jake Auchincloss.

During an address to the Charles River Chamber on Monday, he listed the high cost of housing as the "single biggest economic challenge" facing Massachusetts and encouraged more action to spur production.