Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet

Lancaster County, PA

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 this 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Lancaster County for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct up to 20 Phase I and at least two Phase II environmental site assessments throughout Lancaster County. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Lancaster County was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in southern Pennsylvania, Lancaster County (population 494,486) is made up of one city, 18 boroughs, and 41 townships. About 63 percent of county lands are used for agriculture. As development has spread into rural areas, the county has experienced a loss of farmland. At the same time, the county's urban areas have been challenged by years of disinvestment and urban flight. In the county's largest municipality, the City of Lancaster, the poverty rate has increased while the county poverty rate has decreased. In 15 of the city's neighborhoods, 40 percent or more of the population lives below the poverty level. Thirty-eight percent of residents are minorities. The county database has identified more than 180 suspected brownfields. They include silk mills, print shops, and a variety of other commercial and industrial sites. Assessment of the county's brownfields is expected to help catalyze redevelopment.

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.

EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site

Grant Recipient: Lancaster County, PA
717-299-8333

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.

EPA 560-F-08-054
April 2008

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)

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