Despite one governor pulling the plug on money promised by another, BVK is moving forward.
In 2011, BVK was told it had been awarded a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant for the development of a wastewater treatment plant in Warren.
Gov. Tom Corbett put a hold on RACP grants approved late in former Gov. Ed Rendell's term, and, according to the state's press office, the $1.5 million grant approved by Rendell was terminated by Corbett.
BVK President Ruzhdi Bakalli said the grant was tied to a proposed wastewater treatment plant and he announced Friday that BVK was moving away from that idea.
BVK, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, has been awarded other grants for the six-acre former G.G. Greene site at Pennsylvania Avenue and Pine Street.
In April 2010, the company received and used $172,500 for environmental clean-up work at the site.
A rail infrastructure grant was approved in November 2010 in the amount of $310,823 for improvements and expansion to rail sidings.
Bids for the rail work were opened in June. According to the documents, bidders were asked for proposals to connect to the Allegheny and Eastern Railyard and construct a double track into the property now know as Warren West. The apparent low bidder was Delta Railroad Construction of Ashtabula, Ohio, at $296,153.
Bakalli said the rail grant has not been spent. He is looking for an extension and expects to decide whether or not to utilize the grant by the end of June.
Tim King of Northwest Energy Resource Group, the entity proposing the treatment plant, said he is glad to see Bakalli continuing to work to develop the location.
It's "very good to see Mr. Bakalli moving on with the industrial park work and his continued efforts to bring jobs to Warren," King said.
The treatment plant idea is still in the works, just not for the former G.G. Greene site.
"The need for treatment of water from the oil and gas industry is an ever increasing and pressing environmental issue that needs to be addressed," King said. "Warren is one of several sites identified and under study for development across the state that we are focused on. We will continue our work to bring a solution to the vital water treatment issue facing the industry."