Environmental milestone in Utica as former petroleum site work makes way for redevelopment

      As a major environmental cleanup commenced at the former Matt Petroleum site in Utica recently, local officials heralded the work as another breakthrough in reclaiming sites that have long been stalled in bureaucratic or funding never lands. According to a story in Utica's Observer Dispatch, the action opens up the 4.7 acre site along the Mohawk River for commercial or industrial development in a prime location for such activities between the state Thruway and Downtown.

      The Matt site was the location of several major oil spills over the years, according to the paper, some of which reached the river. Major contaminants in the land at the site will be removed to a landfill, and minor ones will be buried and capped, according to officials.

      This site now joins two other significant environmental remediation areas in Utica that local officials say have the potential for significant economic development in the city: the 145-acre Harbor Point site in Utica's inner harbor, and the 6.9-acre Bossert Manufacturing site along the North-South Arterial in West Utica.

      The story credits recent movement on long-stalled Brownfield sites to improved relations between the city and state, with Mayor David Roefaro pushing for action and state DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis focusing stronger agency efforts on urban areas.

      Read the entire Observer Dispatch article at: