County using federal grant for environmental assessments
The county is using an $850,000 federal grant to conduct environmental assessments of privately owned former industrial sites in hopes the properties will be redeveloped and returned to the tax rolls.
Last week, county commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with Butler, Allegheny Township, Slippery Rock Township and the Cranberry Community Chest to use the five-year Environmental Protection Agency grant for the assessment of brownfield properties in those municipalities.
In Butler, the site is the former AK Steel Plant 2 property. In Slippery Rock Township, the site is a former strip mine along Route 108.
In Allegheny Township, the site is an 85-acre lot adjacent to the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Industrial Park owned by the park. The property is ideal for businesses because of its proximity to Interstate 80 and utilities, said Mark Gordon, county economic development and planning chief.
No properties in Cranberry Township are part of the program, but Gordon said the county will work with township officials to identify sites in the township.
The agreement does not preclude the county from adding other properties to the program if they become available, he said.
“We go into these areas, former industrial sites and gas stations, and do environmental assessments to determine the impact left from prior use,” Gordon said. “This is the type of program that benefits all of us because it allows industry, commercial and residential developers to work in an environment that was handled responsibly.”
The Community Development Corporation of Butler County is working with the owner of the strip mine in Slippery Rock Township and Gordon on the environmental assessment of that site.
“All the sites we look at redeveloping have environmental challenges,’ said Joe Saeler, CDC executive director.
Manganese found in the groundwater at the strip mine will be cleaned up by digging a series of ponds lined with limestone, he said.
“When you look at these sites, the goal is to clean them up and get them back on the tax roll,” Saeler said.
Gordon noted some of the brownfield sites that have been redeveloped as a result of assessments funded by two $600,000 EPA grants the county received in 2018 and 2021.
Among them is the $7.7 million Harmony Fire District fire station being built on South Main Street in Zelienople. The fire district serves Harmony, Zelienople, Lancaster Township and Jackson Township.
After an assessment of the property was completed, oil tanks from the garage that was located on the property were removed, contaminated soil was removed and the garage was demolished, Gordon said.
A grant-funded assessment led to the acquisition and redevelopment of an old steel warehouse in Butler into Belleville International, a washer and spring manufacturer.
“Getting more grant money is a testament to how well we have done with these,” Gordon said.
