NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
15 December 2004

Holden Announces over $2.4 Million in Federal Earmarks for Dauphin County

WASHINGTON, D.C. (DECEMBER 15, 2004) - At a press conference and check presentation held today, Congressman Tim Holden announced $2,468,250 million in earmarked federal funds. Congressman Holden presented checks to Mayor Stephen R. Reed, City of Harrisburg for four projects in Dauphin County.

Specifically, these projects include:

(1) Harrisburg University

$1 million from the Department of Education will provide for laboratory curriculum development, equipment and technology to create a comprehensive university that will integrate an affiliated high school level preparatory school and business incubator. The institution will provide education and foster economic development through a seamless transition from high school to the university to gainful employment in the technology industry. The business incubator will give students a different perspective on learning with hands-on experience through internships as well as the ability to explore, foster and grow business ideas.

(2) Harrisburg Transportation Center

The Harrisburg Transportation Center will use the $1 million earmark to complete renovations to the center. The additional renovations to this intermodal rail facility project are integral to the future implementation of the Corridor One Light Rail Project and Keystone Corridor System Improvements.

(3) Harrisburg Sewer

Harrisburg will use its $250,000 EPA earmark to fund its development of a comprehensive plan to reduce nitrogen loading emanating from their Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF). The AWTF is the largest point service contributor of nitrogen to the Chesapeake Bay in the Susquehanna River Basin. Annually, the AWTF contributes approximately 1.0 million pounds of nitrogen to the Bay. The Susquehanna River Basin is the single cont. from single largest freshwater source for the Chesapeake Bay and Pennsylvania accounts for 21,000 square miles of the total 67,000 square miles of the Bay drainage area. The earmark funding will be used for exploring options in both existing and new technology to address the AWTF problem. Through this search, one technology will be chosen to pursue through preliminary design in order that construction and operating costs could be refined.

(4) CorridorONE

218,250 from HUD’s EDI account to go towards CorridorOne's administrative expenses. “I am very pleased that I was successful in securing funding for these important projects in Dauphin County,” commented Holden. “I believe one of my primary responsibilities as Congressman is to bring federal resources back to Pennsylvania to help my constituents.

“We are very pleased to receive these funds and extend our appreciation to Congressman Holden for his diligent efforts in securing such,” said Mayor Stephen R. Reed. “These allocations are vital to some major city redevelopment projects that will be of benefit to the entire region.”

Contact: Trish Reilly-Hudock 202-225-5546