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- Paul Ziemkiewicz (left), director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU received an award from Susan Janowiak, director of the Office of Brownfields and Outreach, EPA Mid-Atlantic Region, for a four-year project estimated to be $550,000 to convert mine-scarred lands into sustainable energy parks. The project team will inventory abandoned mine sites, assessing the site for possible switchgrass biofuels production or other alternative energy options such as wind turbines.
- Pennsylvania Brownfields 2008 - Putting the Deal Together, October 1 and 2, Harrisburg; contact klougee@psats.org
Brownfield sites means real property, the expansion, development, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contamint.
Many properties across the country that were once used for industrial and commercial purposes are abandoned and some are contaminated. Fear of contamination and the associated liability has hampered development of these sites and made developing in pristine areas, called “greenfields,” more attractive. Left behind are blighted areas with abandoned facilities that cause both an economic and environmental drain on their communities. These properties are brownfields. In addition to former industrial sites, other examples of brownfields properties include abandoned gas stations, dumps, abandoned coal mines and illegal residential drug labs.
EPA offers a variety of grant and loan programs (PDF) (2 pp, 1.31Mb, About PDF) and technical assistance to help communities assess and clean up brownfields and ready them for redevelopment. For more information on where existing Brownsfield grants are in the Mid-Atlantic Region or how to apply for a grant go to Grants Information. Read about brownfield success stories in the Mid Atlantic Region: Mid-Atlantic Brownfields Recasting the Future of Manufacturing and Mining Lands (PDF) (27 pp, 1.45MB, About PDF)"
Sign up for EPA Region 3's Brownfields e-mailing list. Receive periodic announcements and press releases related to the Brownfields program and receive Region 3's quarterly e-newsletter Land Revitalization Update. To sign up for our e-mailing list send an e-mail to Jackie Turrisi at turrisi.jackie@epa.gov and include your name, company, phone number and e-mail address."