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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Johnstown
Redevelopment
Authority, 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
The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority was selected
to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in
western Pennsylvania in Cambria County, Johnstown
(population 23,906) once produced two million tons of
steel a year. Today, the city produces no steel and is
scarred by the legacy of its industrial past. More than
12 miles of vacant or underutilized steel mills blight
the length of the city, and more than 12,000 jobs were
lost when the steel mills ceased operations in 1992.
The city's poverty rate exceeds 24 percent, and nearly
42 percent of families with a female head-of-house-
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Johnstown Redevelopment
Authority for a brownfields cleanup grant.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
clean up the Rosedale KOZ/Ore Yard site on Ore
Yard Road, which is contaminated with heavy
metals and semivolatile organic compounds. The
Bethlehem Steel Corporation used the site for
storing raw materials used in the steel-making
process. Grant funds also will be used to perform
community outreach activities and develop
cleanup plans.
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: Johnstown Redevelopment
Authority, PA
814-535-6564
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
hold live in poverty. In addition to economic distress,
the area faces potential health risks associated with
former industrial sites. The incidence of cancer in
males in Cambria County is almost twice the state rate.
A local company has expressed interest in expanding
its operations onto the cleanup property, and once
hazardous substances contamination has been ad-
dressed, the site can be redeveloped with greenspace,
commercial, recreational, and industrial space.
Brownfields redevelopment will create jobs, aid
economic recovery, remove potential health and
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-06-053
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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environmental threats, and generally enhance the
quality of life for city residents.
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