The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) announced $2.8 million in brownfields grants to revitalize former industrial and commercial sites and promote economic development in West Virginia. With the help of the West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers at Marshall University and West Virginia University, six municipalities and organizations received grants to assess, clean up and redevelop environmentally contaminated sites across the Mountain State.
George Carico, director of the West Virginia Brownfields Center at Marshall University, stated, “We congratulate each of the new grant recipients on this exciting news. The EPA brownfield grants program continues to be a key economic development catalyst across the state. Our West Virginia brownfield centers have been tremendously successful in providing a wide array of services and assistance to move brownfield sites back toward productive use, and this announcement is more proof that good things are happening with brownfield properties across West Virginia.”
Patrick Kirby, director of the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University, added, “We are thrilled to learn that West Virginia has led the pack in securing funding through the competitive EPA brownfield grants program. We know this investment from the EPA will help spark further investment from the public and private sectors. The West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers work hard to provide assistance to these communities, and we look forward to seeing the positive results of these projects.”
The EPA Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grants are targeted to assist underserved and economically disadvantaged communities where environmental cleanup and new jobs are critical for driving economic revitalization. Six West Virginia projects from all parts of the state were awarded funding in this round.
The Southern Coal Camp Authority in Delbarton, West Virginia, was awarded the state’s only Cleanup grant in this round of funding. This $200,000 grant will be used to clean up the former Burch High School/Middle School, which has served both as a school as well as a storage location for the Town of Delbarton. Grant funds will help remediate contamination at the 1.1-acre site, as well as to create redevelopment plans and conduct community outreach activities.
The City of Fairmont and Fayette County each received a $200,000 Community-Wide Assessment grant. Assessment funds can be used to conduct environmental site assessments on multiple sites within a community, as well as to develop site reuse plans, prioritize sites and conduct community outreach
The Region 2 Planning and Development Council received a $600,000 Coalition Assessment grant, which encourages collaboration across multiple organizations for site assessments and reuse planning. Region 2 will be partnering with the Regional Intergovernmental Council and the West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center at Marshall University on this grant.
The cities of Huntington and Weirton were each awarded $800,000 Revolving Loan Fund Grants. The RLF program is a highly competitive program that allows communities to provide loans and subgrants for cleanup activities, adding more incentives for businesses to remediate brownfields.
For more information on the West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers, visit www.wvbrownfields.org.
