$
I
o
Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Wesf-to-l/lfesf
Coalition, Inc.,
Monongahela River
Valley, 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, President George
W. Bush 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The West-to-West Coalition, Inc., was selected to
receive a brownfields assessment grant. The Coalition
represents 21 small communities within the
Monongahela River Valley in southwestern Pennsylva-
nia. With a combined population of about 134,000, the
region was the nation's center for steel production
from 1940 through the 1960s. For years, both banks of
the river were lined with steel-making operations and
other heavy industries that relied on the river for power
and adjacent rail lines for transportation. With the
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the West-to-West Coalition,
Inc., for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant
funds will be used to perform between six and
eight Phase I and II site assessments of proper-
ties contaminated with petroleum, with an empha-
sis upon leaks at abandoned gas stations. Funds
also will be used to conduct community outreach
activities.
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: West-to-West Coalition, Inc., PA
412-469-1132
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
collapse of the steel industry in the late 1990s, the
region lost 54 percent of its manufacturing jobs. The
region has catalogued more than 100 brownfields,
affecting more than 500 acres. Throughout the valley,
abandoned, idle, or under-used properties have contrib-
uted to a 75 percent drop in property values and
population. While the overall minority population is 19
percent, the populations of many of the affected
former industrial communities are 45 percent minori-
ties. Two cities in the region—Duquesne and
McKeesport—as well as three boroughs are federally
designated Enterprise Communities. Brownfields
redevelopment will provide alternatives and options for
new entrepreneurs through the area's Urban Commer-
cial Parks Program, address health risks, return
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-05-177
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
-------
properties to beneficial use, and ameliorate local
environmental justice issues.
------- |