The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allocated Brownfields grants to the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission and the Town of Pennington Gap. These funds aim to assist in the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites, which are properties complicated by hazardous substances or pollutants.
LENOWISCO Planning District Commission has been awarded a $1,200,000 Brownfield Assessment grant. This funding is intended for a community-wide evaluation of local brownfields. Additionally, Pennington Gap will receive a $276,563 Brownfield Cleanup grant to support its cleanup efforts.
U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) commented on the grants: “The EPA’s Brownfields Program has the power to transform and revitalize communities, including those in Southwest Virginia.” He noted that the assessment grant for LENOWISCO will help evaluate hazardous sites for potential redevelopment, while the cleanup grant will aid Pennington Gap’s local site cleaning activities.
Congressman Griffith is actively involved as chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment. In March 2025, he led a hearing focused on the EPA’s Brownfields Program where Duane Miller, Executive Director of LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, emphasized its significance to Southwest Virginia.
LENOWISCO serves Lee, Wise, Scott counties and Norton City. The program encourages states and communities to collaboratively prevent, assess, clean up and reuse brownfields sustainably.
Brownfield Assessment grants fund inventories, planning, environmental assessments and community outreach initiatives. Griffith plans to hold another hearing with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin next week regarding the agency’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
