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 Brownfields  2004
 Grant  Fact  Sheet
      Central City,  PA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, the President
signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup
grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Borough of Central City was  selected to receive  a
brownfields assessment grant. The Dark Shade
Watershed in southeastern Pennsylvania encompasses
Central  City Borough and Shade Township (combined
population 4,144), in Somerset County. This small, rural
community was, until the 195 Os, a  boomtown for the
coal mining industry. Today its population is almost half
of what it was at its peak, and the poverty level is
staggering. Almost 67 percent of families with a female
head of household live below the poverty line. The
current unemployment rate for Somerset County is 5.6
percent. Most employed residents  must travel outside
of Dark Shade Valley for work. The valley is now a
                       Assessment Grant
                       $200,000 for hazardous substances
                       EPA has selected the Borough of Central City for
                       a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will
                       be used to conduct community outreach, perform
                       two to three site assessments, and develop
                       remediation and reuse plans for selected sites in
                       the Dark Shade Brownfields Project area.
                       Contacts
                       For further information, including specific grant
                       contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                       news and events, and publications and links, visit
                       the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
                       brownfields.
                       EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
                       215-814-3129
                       http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

                       Grant Recipient: Central City, PA
                       814-754-8290

                       The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                       yet been negotiated; therefore, the activities
                       described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                    nine-mile-long linear brownfield area, with acres of
                    mine-scarred, contaminated, barren land, and the worst
                    acid mine drainage pollution in the 468-square-mile
                    Stonycreek Basin. Assessing and cleaning up these
                    contaminated sites will provide safer, cleaner recre-
                    ational areas and more opportunities for sustainable
                    redevelopment in the region.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                                             EPA 560-F-04-031
                                             June 2004
                                             www.epa.gov/brownfields

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