The City of Morgantown recently received a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program for the cleanup of White Park.
These grant dollars will provide the funding necessary for the City to use trail construction as a novel approach to addressing historical contamination in the area, as well as providing a comprehensive trail plan for the park.
“The City is spearheading the effort to transform White Park, and we’re happy to be working with MUB and BOPARC on these efforts,” said Special Projects Coordinator, Vanessa Reaves. “The goal is to create a green space that will meet the current and future needs of all park users.”
In the late 1980s, the WVDEP and U.S. EPA formally recognized White Park as a brownfield site. A brownfield is a parcel of land with any real or perceived contamination due to a previous use.
The land that now contains White Park was once part of a former 700-acre oil tank farm known as South Morgantown Tank Farm.
In addition to trail construction, the City and MUB are also planning the construction of a new bridge sometime in 2024. The bridge would connect the new section of trail to the existing network in White Park.
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