Henry County awarded $500,000 EPA assessment grant; partners to offer entrepreneurship programming

County staff told the Henry County Council the county has been awarded a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessment grant to fund Phase I environmental assessments for commercial and industrial properties across the county.

Corey, county staff, told the council the award will fund Phase I assessments and that property owners must be willing to partner to take advantage of the program. "We were awarded $500,000, for phase 1 environmental assessments, anywhere in the county, commercial or industrial property," Corey said, and added the county is finalizing paperwork with EPA and expects the funds to be available in the fall.

Corey also described a second, smaller award: the county is a partner in a Regional Entrepreneurial Pipeline (REAP) program led by Rush County and funded by a $40,000 grant from the IADC. "It's entrepreneurship programming that's gonna be offered in Rush, Fayette, and Henry County," Corey said. He said the REAP funds do not flow through county government and will not require county grant administration.

In addition to grant updates, Corey announced two tax increment finance (TIF) education sessions — July 22 at noon and July 29 at 6 p.m. at the Newcastle municipal building — to help elected officials and local leaders better understand TIF tools and common misconceptions.

The county plans to advertise the EPA assessment opportunity to property owners this fall, and staff said they will continue processing EPA paperwork with the goal of making the funds available to interested property owners.