BALTIMORE, MD (APRIL 10, 2003) –Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich today praised a new national initiative that encourages incorporating land reuse into all federal cleanup projects.

Governor Ehrlich joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, federal and local officials at Harbor Point, the former AlliedSignal site along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, for announcement of the federal administration’s new Land Redevelopment Agenda. The 27-acre site, being restored from decades of chromium and other contamination that leaked into the harbor, is an excellent example of how the new federal policy would apply to properties across the nation; and was chosen by Cirque de Soleil as the grounds for the first stop on its latest North American tour.

“What will get built here will generate jobs, contribute to the tax rolls and add to this beautiful skyline,” Governor Ehrlich said. “What will get built here will reduce sprawl by reducing demand on green space. Brownfields cleanup is critically important from both an environmental and economic development standpoint. It is an indispensable tool in the revitalization of urban communities.”

Fourteen years ago, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), EPA along with Honeywell Corporation, the site’s owner, began actions to investigate and cleanup the area so that future development opportunities could be pursued.

Now with that work complete, Harbor Point will become a centerpiece in the continuing revitalization of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Under the direction of Struever Brothers, Eccles and Rouse, 1.8 million square feet of mixed-used space representing up to $400 million in new investment will lead to creation of as many as 5,000 jobs. The redevelopment master plan also calls for a major public park and promenade.

“Administrator Whitman's Land Redevelopment Agenda will help ensure that the ultimate goal of brownfields cleanup - redevelopment - is achieved once environmental remediation has occurred,” the Governor added.

For more information on MDE’s Brownfield/Voluntary Cleanup Program visit the agency’s website at: mde.maryland.gov. To learn more about EPA’s Land Revitalization Agenda go to: www.epa.gov/oswer/landrevitalization.

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