Sffi
HI
C3
Brownfields 2003
Grant Fact Sheet
Lehigh Valley Economic
Development Corporation, Lehigh
and Northampton Counties, 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. 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 con-
taminant. 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. Additionally,
funding support is provided to state and tribal response
programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
(EDC) was selected to receive an assessment grant.
The Lehigh Valley Land Recycling Initiative, estab-
lished as a department of the development corporation
to promote brownfields redevelopment throughout the
area, has identified 72 sites for potential assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment in Lehigh and
Northampton Counties. Sites will be selected for
assessment based on economic distress of the im-
pacted communities, environmental justice issues, and
location within state-designated Keystone Opportunity
Zones. Poverty rates in the areas surrounding priority
Assessment Grant
$200, 000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Lehigh Valley Economic
Development Corporation for a brownfields
assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to
conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments of a
former railroad facility, two former textile mills,
and a former incinerator in the municipalities of
Bethlehem, Slatington, Bangor, and Easton.
Grant funds also will be used for greenspace and
redevelopment planning and community out-
reach.
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: Lehigh Valley Economic Devel-
opment Corporation, PA
610-266-6775
Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation has not
received brownfields grant funding.
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
sites range up to 32 percent. The target communities
also have minority populations and unemployment rates
that exceed county averages. Lehigh Valley EDC's
brownfields redevelopment efforts are intended to
create jobs, leverage private investment, increase the
local tax base, and preserve greenspace.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA500-F-03-121
June 2003
www.epa.gov/brownfields
------- |