House and Senate conferees agreed Friday, Oct. 8 to a Defense Department appropriations bill that allocates $5 million for asbestos and lead paint removal at the Avtex Superfund site.

"We’re pleased," said Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.-10th) on Tuesday of the progress he’s made with Sen. John Warner (R-Va.)

"This is part of a new emphasis" in cleaning up the site, Wolf said. "Now I think we have everybody’s attention."

He vowed to secure more money toward the goal of redeveloping the property.

"We want to get more funds. The $5 million is a lot. We’ll have to see how it’s used."

The money came through DOD because Avtex was used to make high-tenacity rayon for U.S. missile defense and space programs. Wolf said.

Without outside assistance, Warren County would have picked up the tab for asbestos and lead paint removal, neither of which is covered by the Superfund program.

Through Superfund, roughly 2.8 million square feet of contaminated buildings at the site have been demolished. But there remains a substantial amount of asbestos and lead paint which must be removed before the property can be reused, Wolf said.

The $5 million is authorized through the Water Resources Development Act, which targets money through the environmental restoration account of formerly used defense site.

During its heyday, prior to 1989, Avtex Fibers was the largest employer in Warren County and its closure resulted in the loss of over 1,000 jobs. Local manufacturing following Avtex’s closure dropped 57 percent in one year.

As a result, more than half of the county’s residents today commute outside the county for work, Wolf said.