A regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came to Lockport on Wednesday to talk up the agency’s 2011 grant awards to Niagara County.
The county was awarded two, $200,000 grants, one for assessing brownfields contaminated with hazardous substances and the other for assessing sites contaminated by petroleum. The awards were announced June 6 on the EPA website.
EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck attended a press conference Wednesday morning at the site of the former Dussault Foundry, 2-10 Washburn St., where Niagara County previously invested $700,000 of EPA money in cleanup activities.
“EPA is continuing to assist Lockport and Niagara County turn contaminated sites into useful properties that will help clean up the legacy of pollution, redevelop neighborhoods and create jobs,” Enck said. “With this (new) grant, Niagara County will help revitalize areas like downtown Lockport, leading to economic growth, and cleaner, healthier communities.”
The grant will cover the cost of documenting possible hazardous substances at 18 sites countywide, and petroleum contamination at an undetermined number of sites, according to EPA.
Brownfields are parcels, typically once occupied by industries, where environmental contamination is considered “likely,” Enck said. Making the land environmentally healthy again, and safe and clean enough for modern uses, is the goal of the federal Brownfields Program.
Consistently, Niagara County is one of only a few counties in New York to go after and win brownfields grants regularly. To date, it’s received $3.25 million from EPA.
Brownfields reclamation is a conscious strategy of the Niagara County Economic Development Agency, according to county Legislator Richard Updegrove, R-Lockport, chairman of the legislature’s economic development committee. It’s in pursuit of the goal of recruiting new businesses and jobs to the county, he said.
The Dussault property, an abandoned iron foundry site, will be cleaned up and ready for marketing fairly soon. Last year, the county awarded the city $200,000 from its EPA-funded revolving loan fund to help cover the cost of final remediation chores: asbestos removal/building demolition and removal of contaminated foundry sand on the property. The city took title to the property and is revising a Request For Proposals on the cleanup work now.
Once that work is done, the city will have a “development ready” vacant lot to sell or let on the escarpment, north of Chestnut Street and overlooking the Market Street hill and Lowertown Historic District.
“It’s a post card view. We’re very excited about it,” Mayor Michael Tucker said.
The county, through its Brownfield Development Corp., awarded the city another $200,000 this year, for asbestos abatement at 71 Gooding St., the so-called Kohl Cycle site atop the Clinton Street hill.
Local News
County snags another brownfields grant
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Paying Respect
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Palace, Hartland get Greenway funding
The Historic Palace Theatre and the Town of Hartland both were cleared Tuesday to receive Niagara River Greenway funding for improvement projects.
The eight-member Host Communities Standing Committee voted unanimously to approve funding requests of $151,000 for the Palace and $244,000 for Hartland, which is planning a multi-phase town park enhancement project.
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Erie Canal photo contest underway
The seventh annual Erie Canalway photo contest is under way.
Entries are being accepted now through Sept. 7. Winning photos will be published in the 2013 Erie Canalway calendar.
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Jobless totals drop slightly
Unemployment in the Lockport area decreased slightly last month, but it wasn't because more people are going back to work.
The New York State Department of Labor reported Tuesday about 1,000 city residents were without a job in April, the fifth straight month with over 1,000 unemployed. That was down from the 1,100 it reported in March, however, the number of employed stayed the same at about 9,700 people.
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Fishing for 'Ultimate' perks
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Sprinkler work coming
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Willow Street victim identified
The victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Willow Street on Saturday was identified by Lockport Police as Richard Boye, 46.
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Cutting the travel time
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But lately, working with a travel agent is becoming more popular.
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