Biden Administration Announces $7.3 Million to Tackle Polluted Brownfield Sites in Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA (May 20, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $254.5 million in Brownfields Grants to 256 communities, and Pennsylvania is the beneficiary of $7.3 million of those funds to focus on Brownfields clean-ups, assessment and community revitalization for nine sites in eight separate communities.

“The funding provided to Pennsylvania communities is part of a dedicated nationwide effort to transform contaminated and potentially dangerous sites into productive properties that provide new jobs and opportunities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “EPA’s Brownfields grants not only provide funding to assess and clean up contaminated properties, but they help rejuvenate local communities and overcome economic, environmental, public health, and social issues associated with brownfields.”

These grants are supported by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a total of $1.5 billion to advance environmental justice, spur economic revitalization, and create jobs by cleaning up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties.  

Brownfield projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination, to assessing and cleaning up abandoned properties that once managed dangerous chemicals. Once cleaned up, former brownfield properties can be redeveloped into productive uses such as grocery stores, affordable housing, health centers, museums, parks, and solar farms.

The Brownfields Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 86 percent of the communities selected to receive funding as part of today's announcement have proposed projects to revitalize historically underserved areas.

“We’re turning blight into might for communities across America,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “EPA’s Brownfields Program breathes new life into communities by helping to turn contaminated and potentially dangerous sites into productive economic contributors. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are significantly ramping up our investments in communities, with the bulk of our funding going to places that have been overburdened and underserved for far too long.”

EPA’s announcement includes approximately $180 million from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help turn brownfield sites across the nation into hubs of economic growth and job creation, along with more than $75 million from FY22 appropriations.

The recipients in Pennsylvania include:

• Bucks County Redevelopment Authority, Assessment Grant - $300,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 12 Phase I and 6 Phase II environmental site assessments in the target areas of the Bucks County Enterprise Zone and Sellersville Borough.
• Erie County Industrial Development Authority, Assessment Grant - $500,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct up to 20 Phase I and 9 Phase II environmental site assessments. The target areas for this grant are communities throughout Erie County that share an industrial and agricultural history.  
• Greene County Industrial Development Authority (2), Assessment Grant - $500,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 20 Phase I and 10 Phase II environmental site assessments targeting the Future Investment Areas located in Cumberland Township, Monongahela Township, Waynesburg Borough, and Franklin Township. Priority sites include former coal mine lands, coal processing sites, rail yards, river barge docks, and former industrial facilities that utilized local coal resources to fuel operations. 
• Greene County Industrial Development Authority, Cleanup Grant - $500,000: Grant funds will be used to clean up the Mather site at 1st and 8th Streets. The cleanup site was formerly a coal mine, a coal processing plant, and a loading facility, which included a rail yard and numerous rail spurs, and is contaminated with metals.
• City of Hazleton, Assessment Grant - $500,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 20 Phase I and 10 Phase II environmental site assessments in Priority Improvement Areas of downtown Hazleton. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community engagement activities including hosting 5 public meetings and updating the community website and social media pages.
• County of Montgomery, Revolving Loan Fund Supplemental Funding - $1,000,000: Supplemental grant funds will be used to provide loans and subgrants to entities within the county for the cleanup of contaminated sites. The primary target area for the supplemental funds is Pottstown.
• County of Northampton, Revolving Loan Fund Supplemental Funding - $3,000,000: Supplemental grant funds will be used to provide loans and subgrants for the cleanup of contaminated sites in the target area of Bethlehem.
• Oil Region Alliance of Business Industry and Tourism, Assessment Grant - $500,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct three Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assessments and prepare three reuse plans. The target area for this grant follows a 20-mile stretch of the Allegheny River including the Borough of Sugarcreek and outlying portions of the City of Franklin.
• Penn-Northwest Business Development Corporation, Assessment Grant - $500,000: Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 10 Phase I and 7 Phase II environmental site assessments and prepare three cleanup plans and two reuse plans. Target areas for this grant include Sharon, Farrell, Hermitage, and Grove City, which share a lengthy industrial history.

The complete list of the applicants selected for funding is available here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2022-brownfields-assessment-rlf-cleanup-arc-grants-and-rlf

Since its inception in 1995, EPA’s investments in brownfield sites have leveraged more than $35 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example:

• To date, this funding has led to more than 183,000 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment and more than 9,500 properties have been made ready for reuse.
• Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on average $20.43 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.
• In addition, an academic peer-reviewed study has found that residential properties near brownfield sites increased in value by 5% to 15% as a result of cleanup activities.
• Finally, analyzing data near 48 brownfields, EPA found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue for local governments in a single year after cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites.

Additional Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Redevelopment made possible through the program includes everything from grocery stores and affordable housing to health centers, museums, greenways, and solar farms.   

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 16-19, 2022, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Conference registration is open at https://brownfields2022.org/

For more on Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfiel  ds/types-brownfields-grant-funding

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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