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The Bucks County Commissioners this week pledged $500,000 to help the nonprofit Heritage Conservancy purchase the 82-acre Croydon Woods in Bristol Township.
While no deal has been signed to purchase the property, the Heritage Conservancy is working to get funding to buy the land from its current owner, Dow Chemical. Officials say Dow is working to help preserve the land, which is currently zoned for light industrial. The site buffers homes and Mary Devine Elementary School.
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County Open Space Coordinator Dave Johnson said the Croydon property is mostly wooded. The lot also features seven endangered and four threatened plant species.
The woods have vast wetlands, a portion of the Hog Run Creek and 14 acres of baseball fields that are leased to the Croydon Little League group. Johnson pointed out that 32 acres of preserved by Bristol Township, county and state park land also buffers the site. PECO does have two easements along River Road.
The site does feature a pump house used by governmental environmental protection staff to monitor the woods for trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, which was found to cause health problems. The chemical came to the site through the creek and levels at the site are now below maximum allowed levels, officials said.
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The property previously underwent remediation after mosquito-spraying chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, was spilled at the site by the county in the 1960s. DDT was banned by many countries around the globe in the 1970s after its serious physical and environmental impacts were noted. Officials said the levels at the site are now within acceptable limits.
In other business, the commissioners approved four contracts for the Silver Lake Nature Center in Bristol Township. Below are the details from the county:
A $57,400 contract with B&E Boiler Works, Inc. of Red Hill, PA will provide mechanical services for replacement of the HVAC systems; a $21,889 agreement will provide electrical services to support renovations and new exhibits; a $394,145 contract with Premier Builders, Inc. of Yardley will provide renovations and new exhibits at the center, and another $15,750 contract with QPI Electrical Co., Inc. of Levittown will provide additional electrical services.
