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Lockport gets brownfields funding

Lockport Brownfield site
WBFO News photo by Joyce Kryszak
Lockport Brownfield site

By Joyce Kryszak

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-978354.mp3

Lockport, NY – A vacant foundery in Lockport's lower historic district will soon be converted to useable, taxable property.

The Environmental Protection Agency was in Lockport Tuesday announcing $400,000 in brownfield grants. Some of the money will be used for final remediation of the former Doussard Foundry.

Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker said the property that sits near the escarpment could be beautiful. Tucker said he looks forward to seeing the site transformed.

"I'm really looking forward to the wrecking ball coming down here to knock this building down to give us an opportunity to redevelop this site so it's a useable piece of property for our residents, to take some of this blight away and make our city a much nicer place," said Tucker.

The City of Lockport as well as the County of Niagara have taken the lead in working to clean-up brownfields such as this one. In the past they have received over three million dollars in EPA brownfield grants.

Part of the money from this grant will be used to identify other possible brownfields in the County. EPA Regional Director Judith Enck said there are about 28 possible sites in Niagara County.

Enck said, because officials here are so proactive, Niagara County often rises to the top.

"We provide funding year-round and we have far more applications than what we're able to fund," said Enck. "So, we fund the sites where we think our funds can leverage other money, other investment."

To date, Niagara County has received more than three million dollars in Brownfield grant funding from the EPA. But Enck said even if other brownfield sites are identified with this latest grant, there is no promise of EPA money to help with their clean-up.