WRPA Lands $600K EPA Grant for Brownfields
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- A $600,000 brownfield assessment grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow the Western Reserve Port Authority to move forward on a brownfield inventory and related activities. The port authority, which encompasses Mahoning and Trumbull counties, received notice Wednesday of the grant award, one of only four in Ohio awarded by EPA this year.
The port authority formed the Trumbull Brownfield Coalition which includes the Trumbull County Planning Commission, the city of Warren, Howland Township, and the Mahoning River Corridor Initiative in order to address the growing challenges of abandoned industrial sites in Trumbull County.
The grant funds will be used to conduct a brownfield inventory of approximately 35 sites encompassing 200 acres, perform approximately 30 Phase I and 20 Phase II environmental site assessments, plan clean-up for approximately seven sites, and organize community engagement activities. The sites involved include the former Delphi complex in north Warren, sites along the Mahoning River Corridor, and the Golden Triangle along Bronze, Dietz and Griswold streets.
“Once these abandoned sites are assessed and remediated, they become highly marketable locations for new investment because they feature freight rail access, proximity to major highways, and other essential infrastructure and utilities," said Rose Ann DeLeon, WRPA executive director. "Most importantly, they're ideal locations for companies involved in oil and gas extraction and exploration and firms that support the energy industry."
The grant funds will enable the coalition to leverage $3.1 million in additional funds from a variety of sources, said Sarah Lown, WRPA senior director of economic development, who led the grant application process and is serving as project manager.
The grant will play a key role in helping the coalition partners craft a comprehensive economic development strategy and marketing plan, DeLeon said. “The assessments paid for by the grant will enable us to identify and prioritize our usable sites and greenspace opportunities, get a real handle on the environmental condition of the land, and generate the information we need to seek additional federal and state grants for clean-up,” she said.
Port authority chairman Scott Lynn credited the “wealth of knowledge and expertise” DeLeon and Lown brought as key to the coalition’s success. “I’m pleased for the community and extremely proud of the critical role our staff played in securing this very competitive grant,” he said.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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