A new grant, if awarded, could see the cleanup and reuse of sites around the county with environmental issues.

The county commissioners at their Wednesday meeting announced that they will pay $3,000 to DJS Ventures for an assessment of the county's “brownfield sites.”

Once the assessment is complete, DJS Ventures will use the information to apply for an Environmental Protection Agency grant for $600,000 to mitigate the issues at the sites.

“This would allow DJS Ventures to come in and assess all those industrial sites and prepare the grant application,” said commissioners Chairwoman Leslie Osche.

She used as an example the former Indspec plant in Petrolia, but said any site with environmental barriers to development would be eligible for the grant funds.

Osche added that once a municipality has been approved for the EPA grant funds they usually receive them every year.

She said the South Side area of Pittsburgh was rehabilitated from a deteriorating former industrial eyesore to the shopping, dining, event center and upscale residential neighborhood it has become through the same grant.

“Our hope is we would be able to have that happen as well,” Osche said.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said as an example of a simple mitigation, Kaufman Drive, which encircles Father Marinaro Park, was made usable by the addition of 14 inches of topsoil.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said the expenditure will serve to determine the parcels within the county that cannot be redeveloped because of environmental situations.

The county would pay DJS Ventures another $3,000 once the grant application is submitted.