Gov. Tom Corbett announced Monday the Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $32,880 in grants to help four small businesses across Pennsylvania invest in energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects.

“Investment in small business is a cornerstone to sound economic growth,” Corbett said. “These grants will help small business owners continue to thrive in Pennsylvania.”

Pennsylvania’s Small Business Advantage Grant program, funded through the state’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, helps businesses with 100 or fewer employees. It provides 50-percent matching reimbursement grants of up to $9,500 to implement projects that will save 25 percent annually in pollution-prevention or energy-related costs.

The four businesses that were awarded grants are: Erie County’s Georgeko Industries Inc., $9,500; Lawrence County’s Gebhart Farms, $9,500; Monroe County’s 578 Main Associates LLC, $4,380; and Northampton County’s Tencza Dental Associates, $9,500.

The grants will create more than $136,000 in private-sector investment in small businesses.

Examples of eligible projects include high-efficiency HVAC and insulation upgrades; high-efficiency lighting to save energy; installation of energy-efficient heat pumps; and new auxiliary power units that help large trucks reduce time spent with idling engines.

Since 2004, DEP has invested more than $7.5 million in 1,760 small businesses statewide.

For more information about how DEP can help support small businesses or about future Small Business Advantage Grant programs, contact DEP’s Office of the Small Business Ombudsman at 717-772-8909 or send email to: epadvantagegrant@pa.gov.

5/20/2013