The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that Pennsylvania will receive $2.5 million in brownfield assessment grants, more than any other state in this EPA Region.

"Brownfields reclamation is one of the great environmental success stories of the past decade. The grants announced today will help reclaim Pennsylvania properties that have been unused for years, and turn those sites into assets for the community, the environment, and the economy,” said Donald S. Welsh, U.S. EPA regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

The grants will fund assessments of sites that have potential for reuse, but are perceived to contain environmental pollution. The following recipients will conduct community-wide assessments for sites with hazardous substances or petroleum:

· The City of Philadelphia - $200,000;

· Palmerton Borough, Carbon County - $200,000;

· Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority - $200,000;

· West-to-West Coalition, 21 local governments in Western Pennsylvania's Monongahela River Valley - $200,000;

· Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington - $400,000;

· Bucks County Redevelopment Authority - $400,000; and

· Taylor Borough, Lackawanna County - $350,000 - to assess the Taylor Colliery site.

In Pennsylvania, EPA has also awarded cleanup grants to:

· Washington County Authority - $200,000 - for the Sherwood Towers property;

· Washington County Authority - $150,000 - for the Maintenance Shops property; and

· Johnstown Redevelopment Authority - $200,000 - for the Rosedale KOZ/Ore Yard site.

For more information, visit EPA’s Brownfields Grant webpage.

5/12/2006