Shapiro Administration to Help Turn a Former Gas Station in Somerset County Into the Future Hooversville Municipal Office and Police Station

Hooversville Borough will use the $22,890 Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP) grant for soil remediation and analysis, removal of abandoned underground storage tanks, excavation, and groundwater sampling.

Projects like this one reinforce the Shapiro Administration's commitment to creating healthier communities and further strengthening the economy across Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg, PA - Today, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger announced the approval of $22,890 through the Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP) to Hooversville Borough in Somerset County to perform site remediation at 792 Barn Street - cleaning up and redeveloping the abandoned lot.

The approximately 0.34-acre site was previously used as a gas station until 2015 and was most recently the location of a restaurant that closed in 2019. Following the remediation work, the site will meet environmental conditions for redevelopment with plans to build the Hooversville municipal office and police station.

"Transforming and reusing abandoned sites provides communities with new opportunities for development," said DCED Secretary Rick Siger. "This investment will turn a long vacant site in Hooversville into a space that serves the community - supporting local revitalization while protecting public health and safety. Through programs like the Industrial Sites Reuse Program, we're continuing to provide new life and growth for communities large and small across Pennsylvania."

ISRP funds will be used for soil remediation, removal of four abandoned underground storage tanks, soil analysis, excavation, and groundwater sampling.

"Projects like this benefit the communities in multiple ways - removing the environmental hazard and allowing for new, productive development, in this case to enhance public safety in the community" said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. "Thanks to ISRP and the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund, we can keep cleaning up sites in places like Hooversville all across Pennsylvania."

Governor Josh Shapiro is calling for an additional $20 million for the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund in his 2026-27 Budget Proposal to protect Pennsylvanians from dangerous toxic waste sites and repurpose the land for economic development. For too long, hazardous waste sites, abandoned mine lands, and abandoned wells have sat vacant and released toxic chemicals into the environment because Pennsylvania didn't have the resources or the speed to get projects up and running. The Shapiro Administration is working to fix that - building shovel-ready sites, cleaning up abandoned mine land and hazardous waste sites so communities can put those areas back to good use, and aggressively plugging abandoned or orphaned wells that are polluting our air and water.

The ISRP provides loans and grants for environmental assessments and remediation carried out by eligible applicants who did not cause or contribute to the contamination. The program is designed to support the cleanup of environmental contamination at industrial sites, thereby bringing dormant land into productive reuse.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Penny Ickes (DCED), [email protected]
DEP Newsroom, [email protected]