MIRIA Awards $14.8 In Grants For PFAS, Traffic Work

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —The Military Installation Remediation and Infrastructure Authority recently received $16.7 million from the state that it is giving back to the community.

MIRIA Chair Todd Stephens said at the organization's Dec. 13 meeting that $16.7 million was awarded from the State of Pennsylvania’s Military Installation Remediation Program, established in 2019.

Most of that money, Stephens said, is being awarded in MIRIA grants to the following organizations and agencies to the tune of $14.8 million.

Several involve water treatment authorities dealing with PFAS contamination (forever chemincals) from former military base properties, officials said.

The grants include:

• $1,305,720.00 to Ambler Borough
• $221,308.48 to the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority
• $11,065,423.75 to Horsham Township
• $864,315.82 to Horsham Water & Sewer Authority
• $569,962.27 to the Upper Southampton Municipal Authority
• $774,579.66 to the Warminster Municipal Authority

The grants to the local water authorities were awarded to help fund remedial systems in addressing PFAS contamination caused by former military base properties, water main extensions, and home connections for homes with PFAS-impacted private wells caused by former military base properties, and to reimburse the costs of addressing PFAS with local communities.

The grants approved to Horsham Township and the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority were approved to support various infrastructure projects in Horsham Township in advance of and to aid in the future redevelopment of the former NAS-JRB Willow Grove property.

Other grants include:

• Funding for Horsham to support the Horsham Road & Limekiln Pike intersection improvement project.
• Engineering and other costs for a Norristown Road extension project.
• Funding for landscape architect and construction costs for 100 Easton Road and 259 Dresher Road properties.
• Construction of Blair Mill Road Widening project, Phase 3.
• Construction and other costs related to the Horsham Road Bridge expansion project
• Funding costs related to the Route 611 Vision Plan
• Funding the fund the Horsham Road and Tournament Drive traffic signal modernization and upgrade project
• Other priority projects.

The grant to the HLRA is to fund a portion of the costs of a topographical survey of the former NAS-JRB Willow Grove property and the conceptual design and preliminary cost estimated
for roadway extensions, as well as a study of Maple Avenue from Easton Road to County Line Road.

The MIRIA board also designated about $1.6 million in funding for various MIRIA projects, for property acquisition and/or road infrastructure improvement projects in aid of the future base redevelopment efforts.

Past projects have included the acquisition of the former GrandMa’s Grotto property at 986
Easton Rd. and the recently completed West Moreland and Easton Road intersection signalization and improvement project.

Also done was the acquisition and demolition of the Adam’s Pit-Stop property at 100 Easton Rd. and the acquisition and demolition of the properties at 248 and 258 Easton Rd.

The 100 Easton Rd. project is expected to be incorporated into the township’s Blair Mill Road Widening Project, Phase 3, currently in design and expected to be in construction in 2026, officials said.