EPA Awards Brownfields Grants to WV

On April 19, 2010, the USEPA announced the award of $800,000 in Brownfields assessment grants to four West Virginia communities. According to the USEPA Region III news release, the four grant recipients are as follows:

 

• Fayette County Commission ($200,000) to assess and prioritize brownfields properties throughout Fayette County. To date, there are an estimated 400 brownfields properties identified by the county as needing attention. 

 

• City of Nitro ($200,000) to assess and update the city’s brownfields sites.  To date, 54 underused and vacant brownfields sites have been identified in Nitro.  Brownfield assessments will provide the city with a more thorough inventory of contaminated sites that have potential for reuse as small-scale commercial properties, greenspace, and recreational facilities.

 

• City of Parkersburg ($200,000) to assess and prioritize brownfields properties in Parkersburg.  The brownfields assessments are expected to help facilitate cleanups and create economic opportunities for the city.    

 

• WVDEP ($200,000) to assess properties along the historic U.S. Route 60 Midland Trail, a national scenic byway located along a 119-mile trail in the Appalachian Mountains.  Brownfields assessments will clarify conditions at the sites and help facilitate reuse of the sites for historical interpretive stops along the trail and attract tourism and tourism-related jobs to the area. 

Overall, the USEPA announced that it will award $78.9 million to fund 304 grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants program. These grants will be awarded to communities in 40 states, four tribes and one U.S. Territory.  This funding will be used for the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields properties, including abandoned gas stations, old textile mills, closed smelters, and other abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Nationwide, the USEPA announced it will fund 304 grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants programs, as follows:

 

• 188 assessment grants ($42.56 million) to conduct site assessment and planning for cleanup at one or more brownfields sites as part of a community-wide effort. 

 

• 17 revolving loan fund grants ($17 million) to provide loans and subgrants to communities to begin cleanup activities at brownfields sites. Revolving loan funds are generally used to provide low interest loans for brownfields cleanups.

 

• 99 cleanup grants ($19.36 million) to provide funding for grant recipients to perform cleanup activities at brownfield sites they own. 

Information on the USEPA brownfields program is available at www.epa.gov/brownfields/ and information on grant recipients is available at   www.epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/index.htm.

 

This article was authored by Greg Tieman, Acacia Environmental Group LLC. For more information on the author see here.