All News Releases By Date

Chester County Gets $265,000 More For Brownfields Cleanup

Release Date: 6/20/2003
Contact Information: David Sternberg 215-814-5548

Contact : David Sternberg 215-814-5548
COATESVILLE, PA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it would make an additional $265,000 available to Chester County Pa. in its latest round of brownfields pilot grants. The grant will go into a revolving loan fund to pay for cleanup at lightly contaminated former industrial properties, thereby spurring rejuvenation and redevelopment.

“Restoring brownfields to productive use brings enormous benefits to local communities. Experience has shown that every dollar of federal money spent on brownfields leverages about two-and-a-half dollars in private investment, and every acre of brownfields that is restored saves more than 4.5 acres of green space,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

These funds are seed money to capitalize a fund to provide loans or subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at petroleum contaminated brownfield sites throughout the county. Up to 40 percent of the award can be given out as subgrants to non-profit or publically owned properties for remediation activities. The remainder of the funds can be used to provide low interest or no interest loans to public or private entities for remediation activities.

Today’s award brings to $465,000 the total of federal brownfields grant money awarded to Chester County. In October 2001, EPA awarded the county a $200,000 brownfields assessment grant. That funding is being used to pay for environmental assessments on three brownfield sites in Coatesville which will be developed by Habitat for Humanity to provide 30 affordable housing units and a neighborhood park. The three adjacent properties include a former coal loading yard, a former asphalt mixing yard and a former Amtrak rail yard.

EPA has awarded $19 million to 37 communities throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Today’s announcement brings an additional $4.6 million to the region. The funds are being made available under the brownfields legislation signed into law by President Bush on January 11, 2002 in Conshohocken, Pa.