State and federal officials are at odds over a troubled Pennsylvania property the U.S. Department of Homeland Security bought amid its nearly $40B industrial real estate blitz.
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Transwestern Development Co. never addressed road stabilization and stormwater management problems at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, according to municipal documents obtained by Spotlight PA.
The property, which is about 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia, sold for $87.4M earlier this year. The agency reportedly wants to use it as a processing center.
Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued five administrative orders preventing DHS from occupying it at the behest of Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The agency issued similar orders for a Schuylkill County property site set to become an ICE detention facility.
DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said DHS’s Upper Bern plans would add 9,000 people to the rural township and that its systems can’t handle that.
“Doubling the populations of these areas could drain drinking water sources and lead to polluted waterways from overwhelmed sewage facilities leaking raw waste into our streets and rivers,” she said in a statement.
“Just like anyone else, DHS needs to demonstrate its facilities comply with environmental standards.”
DHS’s purchase came after the township gave Transwestern nine extensions on its land development agreement, which was enacted in September 2020, to address outstanding issues and keep the municipality from being saddled with an unfinished or faulty project.
Transwestern, DHS and ICE did not respond to Bisnow’s requests for comment.
It isn't clear if the federal government will have to abide by the agreement the township and Transwestern signed in 2020.
The agency’s plan to spend $38B on warehouses to build out a 92,500-bed detention network has faced pushback nationwide.
A federal judge Wednesday issued a 14-day stop work order on construction at an 830K SF western Maryland warehouse, which DHS is converting into a 1,500-bed detention center after buying it for $102.4M.
U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson cited concerns about environmental impacts and whether the facility’s infrastructure can accommodate that many people.
“Let’s be honest about this. This ruling isn’t about the environment,” a DHS spokesperson told Bisnow in a statement about the Maryland ruling. “It’s about trying to stop President Trump from making America safe again.”
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