Brownfields 2003 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Johnstown, 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. 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 City of Johnstown was selected to receive an assessment grant. The City of Johnstown (population 24,000) grew up around the coal and steel industries, which have since declined and left the land-locked city with large abandoned and contaminated properties. The state designated Johnstown as a Distressed Community in 1992. The city has developed a Recovery Plan that provides the means to stop the constant out-migration that resulted from the loss of 20,000 coal and steel jobs in the region. The Recovery Plan includes the cleanup of contaminated properties to allow development of a Downtown Renaissance Project and a new high-tech business incubator. The city plans to reuse steel mill buildings to preserve the city's historical heritage as a center of steelmaking, including possible reuse of these buildings as research and development centers for new products manufactured from recycled machinery. Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the City of Johnstown for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments at abandoned steel mill facilities. Grant funds also will be used for public health monitoring, community outreach, and redevelopment 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 (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 -Ir) Grant Recipient: City of Johnstown,PA (814)535-6564 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) EPA500-F-03-114 June 2003 ------- |