Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Monongalia County, WV

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Monongalia County for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the 3.1-acre Quality Glass Plant site in the Town of Van Voorhis. The site was used for glass manufacturing from the 1920s to the late 1980s. Site soil and groundwater are contaminated with heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used to implement engineering and institutional controls and support community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Monongalia County was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Monongalia County (population 81,866) is located in north-central West Virginia along the Monongahela River. It is home to abandoned, dilapidated, and contaminated sites that are the legacy of glass and other manufacturing and mining industries. Since 2000, the county has experienced rapid residential and commercial growth. Greenspace is disappearing at a rapid rate, and recreational facilities are crowded. However, areas of the county, including the Town of Van Voorhis, have not benefitted from this growth. The Quality Glass Plant site, idled since the late 1980s, is next to the Monongahela River and near a heavily-used recreational area. The site, located in the Town of Van Voorhis, degrades the county's recreational assets and hinders redevelopment plans for the riverfront. Cleanup and redevelopment of the site as a park and parking lot will improve access to the Upper Monongahela River Water Trail and the Monongahela River and Caperton Rail-Trails.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3129
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Monongalia County, WV
304-291-7259

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.