WVLSC Heads Empower Albright Project Funded by Just Transition Fund Grant

The WVLSC and the Northern Brownfields Assistance Center received a planning grant from the Just Transition Fund to spearhead the Empower Albright Project. We convened a task force that includes Friends of the Cheat; the Preston County Economic Development Authority; the Preston County Task Force; and the NBAC to plan for the redevelopment of the Albright Power Plant property and the nearby Cheat River recreation area. We’ll work with this group and the larger Preston County community to learn how current economic interests and existing initiatives relate to future redevelopment goals. We will use our findings to develop a strategic plan to maximize the economic development potential and tourism opportunities presented by the Plant property and the surrounding area.

Phase II Environmental Assessment at Smokestacks Property Near Completion

WVLSC’s environmental consultants sampled soil and groundwater from the smokestacks property in the Morgantown Industrial Park in order to prepare a Phase II environmental assessment. Lab reports showed some groundwater contamination and asbestos-containing materials in the buildings and nearby soil. The next step for the property is to develop a plan to remediate the environmental concerns and demolish the structures that impede re-development.

Coordinating with WV’s Abandoned Properties Coalition

Early this year, the WVLSC began working with the Abandoned Properties Coalition to help address the large numbers of abandoned and dilapidated properties throughout West Virginia. Coalition members will hold a strategy meeting this month to discuss funding options for demolishing the blighted buildings that plague over 20,000 properties state-wide. The WVLSC’s mission to address environmental issues in order to get unused properties back into productive use, as well as to provide long-term stewardship of such sites, fits with the Abandoned Properties Coalition’s goals. The WVLSC can help with planning for long-term fund sustainability to address abandoned and dilapidated properties, as well as with the administration and oversight of the associated program.