The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that includes $1 million for the demolition of buildings at the Avtex Fibers Superfund site in Front Royal.

The bill, a conference report on spending for the departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and several independent federal agencies, was passed, 406-13.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on it today.

The $1 million, pushed through by 10^th District Rep. Frank R. Wolf, plus $5 million that Sen. John W. Warner had included in an earlier budget bill, is about half of the $12 million needed to remove asbestos from and tear down the buildings.

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority will take ownership of the 600-acre site later this year.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency tore down a number of buildings at the former rayon plant, the remaining buildings don’t contain pollutants the agency deals with.