Markell announces $4M environmental cleanup plan for Delaware

Gov. Jack Markell is proposing a $4 million investment in “brownfield” environmental cleanup projects he says will create shovel-ready opportunities for economic development in Delaware.

The proposal was the latest in a series of announcements on how the governor plans to spend some of the projected $320 million in increased state revenues. Markell recently has offered several proposals to boost job creation, spur economic development and strengthen education.

Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial or commercial facilities available for re-use.

“We believe that this $4 million investment we’re talking about can go a long way toward helping to clean up and revitalize these sites,” he said.

Markell made the announcement Friday at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington. Markell said it was fitting that the announcement took place on the Riverfront, a once-dilapidated area, now home to international banking firms, restaurants, housing, retail space, and public venues like the Chase Center, Blue Rocks Stadium, the Delaware Children’s Museum, and the Russell W. Peterson Wildlife Refuge.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s amazing and it’s really all made possible by this kind of concept,” Markell said. “So what this is testament to is the potential of what a brownfield can be.”