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Brownfields 2004
Grant Fact Sheet
Johnstown
Redevelopment
Authority, PA
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communi-
ties, 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, the President 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 Johnstown Redevelopment Authority was selected
to receive a brownfields assessment grant and three
cleanup grants. Johnstown (population 23,906), located
in southwestern Pennsylvania, has miles of landscape
blighted by vacant steel manufacturing and support
facilities, a legacy of the city's industrial heritage. At its
peak, the town produced two million tons of steel. In
1992, when Bethlehem Steel closed its doors, over
12,000 people lost their jobs. The resulting lack of
employment opportunities has led to an out-migration of
Johnstown's youth and an increase in the percent of
senior residents, many of whom are at risk of steel
industry-related health problems. Twenty-four percent
of the city's population subsists on income below the
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Johnstown Redevelopment
Authority for a brownfields assessment grant.
Grant funds will be used to conduct community
outreach activities and public health monitoring,
perform two to three site assessments, and
develop remediation and reuse plans at former
steel mill sites throughout Johnstown.
Cleanup Grants
$600,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Johnstown Redevelopment
Authority for three brownfields cleanup grants. Grant
funds will be used to clean up three sites on Iron
Street: the Blacksmith Shop, the Electrical Storage
Building, and the Cambria Iron Works Vacant Lot, all
formerly part of the Bethlehem Steel Complex. Funds
will be used to conduct community outreach activities,
public health monitoring and education, remediation
planning, cleanup, and reuse planning.
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, the activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
poverty level. Almost 14 percent of the population are
minorities. Redevelopment plans include revitalizing the
Blacksmith Shop, a National Historic Landmark, and
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-04-066
June 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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attracting business ventures to the other two sites that
will complement a multi-use development in the heart of
the city. Restoration of the shop will bring additional
tourism to the city and enable it to be used as a trailhead
along the Urban Greenway Trail. Redevelopment of the
other sites will bring new investment, new jobs, and an
increased tax base to the area's lagging economy.
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