CANTON – St. Lawrence County has reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency that will allow the county to take ownership of and sell remediated properties in Massena, Gouverneur and Morristown.

The parcels include the Murphy site located 2184, State Highway 420, Massena, the Brown site at 31 Willow Street, Massena, the Alaskan Oil site at 333 W. Main Street, Gouverneur and the Colby/Green site at County Route 6, Morristown.

According to the resolution, the EPA has expended funds for cleanup and removal of petroleum based contaminates at each of the properties. Under normal circumstances the EPA would require the county to reimburse the fund for its cleanup work, before allowing for a county acquire the parcel through tax foreclosure.

However, the EPA has agreed to waive the chargeback on the condition it receives 50 percent of the sale price brought at tax auction.

“The fund is willing to release its potential claims in consideration of certain payments by the county upon the sale of the sites as a partial reimbursement of cleanup and removal costs incurred and which may be incurred by the fund,” the resolution says. “An agreement between the fund and county is necessary to release any potential claims the fund may have in respect to the sties prior to the county taking title to the sites through tax forclosure.”

Over the past year the county has been successful in reaching several similar agreements that have allowed the county to foreclose