5
              o
                           T>

  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Palmerton  Borough,

                   PA


EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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
Palmerton Borough was selected to receive a brown-
fields assessment grant. The target communities are
Palmerton Borough; three surrounding municipalities
of Bowmanstown, East Penn  Township, and Lower
Towamensing Township; and a broad region of
adjacent communities in Carbon, Lehigh, and
Northampton Counties. Located in eastern Pennsylva-
nia, these rural communities and villages have a
combined population of approximately 200,000, more
than 58 percent of whom are considered low-to-
moderate income. Two zinc smelters operated in
Palmerton for more than 80 years, emitting thousands
of tons of heavy metals that were deposited by airfall
in a large area around the borough. Although air
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected Palmerton Borough for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to determine the
 extent of smelter-derived metals contamination in
 the region. Metals of greatest concern include
 arsenic, cadmium, and zinc. Grant funds also will
 be used to address community-wide concerns
 related to levels of contamination and groundwa-
 ter transport of metals, and to perform commu-
 nity outreach and education 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: Palmerton Borough, PA
 610-826-2505
 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
quality has improved in the region since the smelters
closed, ecological degradation has denuded the land-
scape and deterred economic development. Area
residents also are concerned about the water quality of
the Lehigh River, a municipal drinking water supply
and recreational outlet. Brownfields assessment is
expected to help determine the extent and severity of
soil, water, and ecosystem contamination and allow
communities to better delineate areas of concern.
Brownfields redevelopment is expected to attract
businesses necessary for economic revitalization, and
create jobs.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-054
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------