Environment DEC
From the December 2003 issue
Brownfields Grant for Rensselaer County
The Rensselaer County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) will receive a $180,000 Brownfields Program Grant to investigate environmental contamination at the South Troy Industrial Park in the City of Troy, Rensselaer County.
Plans for Reuse
The IDA will use the grant to investigate a 19-acre parcel of unused land located at East Industrial Parkway. The agency acquired the property in 1990 and intends to sell lots to businesses and industries after contamination has been addressed.
The investigation will include sampling to determine the degree of soil and groundwater contamination at the site. After the investigation is complete, a determination will be made about cleanup activities necessary to make the site safe for use.
The grant provides 90 percent of the eligible costs of the investigation, with the IDA funding the remaining 10 percent. The IDA is eligible for the grant through the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) funded by the 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act.
History of Property
The property was formerly part of the Burden Iron Works, which produced iron and steel from 1862 until the early 1940s. Republic Steel Corporation operated some of the blast furnaces at the site until 1972. Most of the steel mill and foundry complex has been demolished and only an office building and warehouses remain. A seven-acre parcel at the site has already been remediated under New York State's Voluntary Cleanup Program and was sold to New Penn Motor Express.
