U.S. Reps. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) sent a letter to the head of the Navy on Monday, urging him to complete a study that is delaying redevelopment plans for the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station.
When completed, the redevelopment of the site in Horsham, Pennsylvania, is expected to provide up to 10,000 jobs for the region. According to the letter sent to Ray Mabus, secretary of the U.S. Navy, the plans for redevelopment have been delayed for nearly eight years due to numerous drawn out reviews and slow-moving studies by the Navy.
“The most recent delay in the development project is due to a Navy environmental impact statement that was originally slated for completion in early 2014…,” the letter said. “The Navy, however, has grossly missed its target date for the completion of the study.”
The Navy officially left the air station in 2011.
“We respectfully request that the Navy fully complete its environmental impact statement as soon as possible,” the letter concluded. “Immediate implementation of this project will bring jobs, economic opportunity and growth to residents of our congressional districts. Importantly it will give township leaders and resident reassurance that, nearly a decade later, their goals for this property will be realized.”