For Immediate Release:

Thursday, August 2, 2001

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today announced that the full Senate has committed $1,000,000 to help redevelop downtown Bellingham. The City of Bellingham will use the funding to purchase 2.1 acres of waterfront property that is important to on-going local redevelopment efforts.

The earmark is included in the fiscal year 2002 spending bill that provides funding for the Veterans Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and independent agencies. The bill passed the Senate today by a vote of 94-5.

"I am pleased that my colleagues in the Senate have committed this funding to such an important project in Washington State," said Murray. "In helping Bellingham to redevelop this brownfield we are providing a cleaner, healthier environment for our families and revitalization for our businesses."

The City of Bellingham will use the funding to purchase 2.1 acres of underutilized commercial property located on top of a 13 acre, capped solid waste landfill in the City's Old Town. The site is part of the 41-acre Holly Street Landfill Redevelopment Project, which received federal funding under the EPA's brownfields program in 1999 and again in 2001. City ownership of these 2.1 acres is essential to realizing additional cleanup, habitat and economic development opportunities.