SCHUMER ANNOUNCES, FOLLOWING HIS PUSH, ARMY CORPS HAS PROVIDED FED WETLANDS REVIEW FOR FORMER BETHLEHEM STEEL SITE IN HAMBURG THAT ALLOWS CONSTRUCTION TO GET UNDERWAY WITH KEY HURDLE CLEARED, SCHUMER TO PUSH FEDEX TO COMMIT TO SITE, BRING 400 JOBS

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced, following his push, the U.S. Army Corps (USACE) agreed to expedite a key review of wetlands on the vacant former Bethlehem Steel property in Hamburg, a site that FedEx could potentially turn into a major distribution center and a location for up to 400 new jobs, and delivered the final review to Hamburg officials today. Schumer visited the Bethlehem Steel site on Monday and wrote a letter to the USACE urging them to issue this review as quickly as possible. Schumer said that this wetlands review, which provides a clear delineation of where the wetlands on the property are located, was the last remaining hurdle before construction on the site could begin. Schumer said that with this wetlands review in hand, the property will be even more attractive to a company like FedEx, and Schumer will now be urging them to commit to the site.

"The former Bethlehem Steel site in Hamburg holds massive, jobcreating potential, and this federal wetlands review is exactly what we've all been waiting for to begin redeveloping the site," said Schumer. "I commend the Army Corps for quickly heeding my call to expedite and deliver this wetlands review, which makes it clear where the wetlands are located on the property. With this review behind them, the town and the developer can now begin to build around the wetlands, and the important work of locking in FedEx as the site's principal tenant can begin, which is why, in the days weeks, and months ahead, I will be pushing FedEx to officially commit to the site. There is the potential here to bring up to 400 jobs to Hamburg, and I will not stop pushing until this gets over the finish line."

"We are incredibly excited to learn that at Senator Schumer's request the Army Corps of Engineers and the US EPA has expedited the approvals we needed for the Lake Erie Industrial Park. Senator Schumer's support helped us get an approval that had taken months completed in just a few days. With this approval in hand we can now move forward with efforts to finalize an agreement with FedEx that will help create hundreds of jobs in Western New York," said Town of Hamburg Supervisor Steve Walters. 

The former Bethlehem Steel site is a 129acre parcel of land in the Town of Hamburg, along Route 5, that is ripe for development. While no final decision has been made, Schumer said that FedEx has expressed interest in having a distribution facility there - and there is already a developer lined up to build a facility, however the parcel contains wetlands that must be built around. Before any work can get underway, the USACE needed to issue a review of the property detailing exactly where those wetlands are located. The Town of Hamburg and Hamburg IDA have both said that with this review in hand, the developers could begin construction - they would construct the property around the wetlands - and FedEx, or any other potential tenant, could commit to move into the space once it is completed. Without this USACE wetlands review, development has remained at a standstill.

Schumer noted during his visit earlier this week that officials from the USACE visited the site back in April and identified where the wetlands were located on the property. Until today, however, the Town of Hamburg had not received a final Jurisdictional Determination from the USACE, which is the documentation that is needed before work can get underway or any agreements can be signed. Schumer explained that this Jurisdictional Determination is critical for to Hamburg officials because any further delays in the project could have jeopardized the potential to lure a large employer, like FedEx, to the site.

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