Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Lawrence County, PA EPA Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states. communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield 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. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country cleanup and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this 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 programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description The County of Lawrence was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, the county (population 90,272) is a rural community with a more than 200-year industrial history, including a number of metals manufacturing and processing operations. Today, many of the former large steel mills and manufacturing plants in the county lie abandoned. They are a blight on the community and pose safety and health concerns for county residents. The legacy of contamination from these operations has contaminated surrounding areas and continues to impact the county. When these key industries closed, the county"s economy declined. The unemployment rate in the county exceeds both the state and national averages. The county expects to identify and rank between 120 and 150 brownfield sites. Brownfield assessments are expected to help the county mitigate threats to area residents and create a foundation for leveraging additional funds to support redevelopment. Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the County of Lawrence for a brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to identify brownfield sites throughout the county and conduct eight to 10 Phase I and one or two Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant 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 (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team (215)814-3129 EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr) Grant Recipient: County of Lawrence,PA 724-656-2175 The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-10-056 Apr 10 ------- |