Contamination still a barrier at old Montco air base

A nearly billion-dollar redevelopment of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station remains at least a year away, still slowed by last year's discovery of water contamination on the site.

At a meeting Wednesday, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority (HLRA) said it was amending its purchase proposal and other planning documents to account for the contamination and cleanup.

The 862-acre base, selected for closure a decade ago, remains mostly vacant. The authority plans to build homes, offices, stores, a museum, a school, and other facilities on the Montgomery County site.

Michael McGee, executive director of the authority, said the Navy "has been aggressively attacking the problem" of perfluorinated compounds in some wells near the base. But plans that were in place before the contamination was registered are still being amended, he said.

The federal government will continue to be responsible for the cleanup efforts even after it lets go of the land. In the meantime, it is providing clean water to private well owners, and working with the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority to develop a remediation plan for the contaminated wells, officials said.

The chemicals, commonly used in firefighting foam, were classified as an emerging contaminant by the EPA last summer. The agency has yet to specify what remediation methods will be approved, McGee said.

"Until that happens, I don't think either party, the Navy or the HLRA, is ready to come to the table" to negotiate a sale of the base, McGee said.

Many other hurdles have been surmounted. The Navy this spring completed its Environmental Impact Statement and other paperwork needed to sell the land.

The authority has contracted with a California-based firm to serve as master developer, and McGee said the board is expected to vote on the final land-transfer proposal this fall. After that, the sides can begin to discuss a purchase price, he said.

Of the 22 military facilities closed in the 2005 round of realignments and closures, Willow Grove may be the last transferred off the federal books.

In a 2013 report, the authority estimated that the redevelopment would generate $928 million in construction costs, 10,000 jobs, and $15.6 million a year in new tax revenues for Horsham Township.

Source: Philly.com