[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



[[Page E1516]]


          AWARD OF A BROWNFIELDS GRANT TO CITY OF TRENTON, NJ

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 1995
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that Trenton was 
today awarded 1 of 15 Brownfields pilot grants by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. The Trenton community truly 
deserves this Federal recognition and financial support for all the 
hard work we have done to identify and clean up hazardous wastes left 
over from the city's industrial heyday.
  Trenton has the spirit, the commitment, and a detailed plan for 
restoring these sites and making them available for alternative uses. 
In fact, over the past several years, the city has committed funds and 
other resources to identify contamination, develop plans for 
remediation, and redevelop abandoned lots. But our city has lacked the 
appropriate financial means to make these assets fully effective. The 
Brownfields Program will provide the city with that funding assistance 
and propel our initial program to final success.
  The Brownfields project which Trenton has developed will put the 
$200,000 Federal grant to good use. The city has enlisted the help of 
several civic organizations, State government, and community residents 
to devise their program and intends to call on them to implement it as 
well.
  The city will employ a strategy to incorporate the resources of 
established community urban beautification and environmental justice 
programs, as well as the expertise of local legal, development, and 
other professionals.
  I have worked closely with both the city of Trenton and Mercer County 
in a bipartisan effort to coordinate Federal, State, and local dollars 
and resources to improve New Jersey's capital. Together we made Trenton 
one of the initial pilot sites for the Weed and Seed anti-drug crime 
program, we helped to rehabilitate abandoned rowhouses, and we have 
made city gardens and parks cleaner and safer.
  With its 89,000 residents, we in Trenton are proud to rank with some 
of the other awardees here today--such as Baltimore, New Orleans, and 
Detroit--that often receive greater attention from the Federal 
Government. Trenton--which has the same concerns as these larger 
cities--will use the money effectively and quickly to clean up sites, 
eliminating the abandoned areas where drug use, violent crime, and 
gang-related activities can fester.
  Trenton has taken the bull by the horns to address all of these 
problems. This Brownfields project will advance this fight to save 
Trenton.


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