SitemapThe fourth time proved to be the charm,
proponents of a $200,000 brownfield assessment grant said after learning the
city’s application for the funds has been approved.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it has awarded the assessment grant
to the city, which had unsuccessfully applied for the funds three times before.
The city will use the $200,000 to fund an updated inventory of petroleum
brownfields, set priorities for brownfield sites, conduct at least 24 Phase I
and about 16 Phase II environmental site assessments, and prepare cleanup plans
for up to three high-priority sites, according to state documents. Youngstown
was among 172 communities and organizations nationwide that were awarded brownfield
grant funds yesterday. “These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and
other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where
jobs can grow,” U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in announcing the
grants. Work in Youngstown will focus on former gas stations, car dealerships
and dry cleaners – along the city’s main corridors, Mayor John McNally said. “We
know there are probably four or five different sites on Glenwood Avenue,” he
said. “On every major corridor, there are several sites that need to be cleaned
up.” Three years ago, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. conducted a
citywide survey of “every possible site” that could have an underground storage
tank and identified more than 300, reported Ian Beniston, YNDC executive
director. “We need to get these sites cleaned up if we’re going to attract
economic development and investment to these neighborhoods,” Beniston remarked.
“We have to have land that’s assembled but we also need to have land that’s
cleaned.”
To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here.