CLEARFIELD – Clearly Ahead Development, the county’s economic development entity, has plans to apply for a federal brownfields grant.
On Tuesday Rob Swales, chief executive officer, told the Clearfield County Commissioners that Clearly Ahead was in the very preliminary stages of preparing its application, which is due in mid-November.
Swales said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced request for proposals for the 2018 Brownfields Assessment and Clean-up Grant.
According to him, Clearly Ahead, formerly known as the Clearfield County Economic Development Corp. (CCEDC), applied for grant assistance in 2007 and was awarded on a competitive basis for similar projects.
This time Swales said that Clearly Ahead wants to engage municipalities throughout Clearfield County and develop an inventory of brownfield sites that are privately owned and posing safety and health problems.
“We plan on submitting an application but are looking for municipal help,” he said. “It will really strengthen our application to show a list of sites worthwhile for federal assistance.”
If awarded grant funding, Swales said Clearly Ahead will have three years to identify a brownfields assessment project to fund. If a clean-up is necessary, he said they can proceed with an application for additional assistance.
