CITGO Petroleum Corp., owned by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., at first worked with Pennsauken on redeveloping the 392-acre island - a real estate prize because it is so close to Philadelphia, Cummings said. The company for decades stored oil and other products on Petty's Island.

A CITGO spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Pennsauken sees Petty's Island as the centerpiece of its $1 billion plan to redevelop its seven-mile waterfront where old industrial sites now block people from the New Jersey beaches where Philadelphians once vacationed. The island would be developed with a golf course, a hotel and houses but exactly how it would proceed has yet to be worked out.

"We also envision it to be a destination, a place for people to go and just enjoy nature," Cummings said, adding a marina, restaurants, a boardwalk, and nature walks were also planned.

A pair of nesting bald eagles was discovered on the island in March 2003, he said. The trust's vote did not put the eagles at risk because environmental officials had already safeguarded their nest.

The bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States, is a protected species protected under U.S. law.

Bradley Campbell, the state's environmental commissioner, has said the oil company stood to save millions of dollars by turning the entire island into a nature preserve. The polluted areas will have to be cleaned much more thoroughly if houses or a hotel are built there.