Northampton County has received a green gift from the federal government.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given the county a $650,000 grant to develop "brownfields."

Those are contaminated industrial sites that are rundown or abandoned.

The county will work with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation to decide which properties to develop.

Corporation chief and former Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham says Friday's gift will keep a good thing going.

"We've created this great regional partnership where the two counties, the three cities and the business community recognize the importance of cleaning up old industrial sites and creating jobs on them and the federal government likes it," said Cunningham.

The announcement was held at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem which is also a former brownfield.

Northampton County has managed three brownfield grants totaling more than $1 million since 2000 leading to more than 150 jobs.