Tonawanda, NY (WBEN) - The Town of Tonawanda growing impatient while waiting for help in cleanup of the former Tonawanda Coke site.
Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Joe Emminger wants the State to get the Tonawanda Coke site into the Brownfield Cleanup program.
"We have to get the DEC to put the site in to the Brownfield Cleanup Program," Emminger said. "We believe it's the fastest way, and the safest way to get the site redeveloped in a timely matter... The DEC will hopefully be making that decision soon."
Once the designation is made, Emminger believes that the process can speed up significantly.
"The Brownfield Cleanup Program has a history of being able to turn around sites quicker and more efficiently than a Superfund program," Emminger said.
The Supervisor believes there are plenty of people who would be interested in taking the project on, despite its history of pollution.
"It's a 120 acre site on our waterfront, and I think that's why we have people who are very interested in getting it cleaned up and redeveloping," Emminger said. "Those sites don't exist in our area."