BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – Strengthening Romania's capacity to curb environmental degradation at hazardous mining sites is the goal of a USTDA grant awarded today to the Romanian Ministry of Economy and Commerce. The $293,682 grant to co-fund the development of a nationwide environmental monitoring system in the mining sector in Romania was conferred in a signing ceremony held at the America Center at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest .

USTDA Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia , Daniel D. Stein, signed the grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government. Minister Ioan-Codrut Seres , Minister of Economy and Commerce, signed on behalf of the Romanian Government. Ms. Jennifer Gothard , Acting Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest , and Mr. Gheorghe Buliga , President of the Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resources, witnessed the grant signing on behalf of their respective governments.

At present, 140 mines with critical safety and environmental concerns have been identified as priority sites throughout Romania . The grant awarded today supports the efforts of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to curb further environmental degradation at these sites and to implement new environmental remediation policies in Romania 's mining sector.

The USTDA grant will be used to fund a feasibility study that will include the design of an overall system architecture for the environmental monitoring system, its data collection facilities, a data transmission network and centralized monitoring centers. In addition, the study will undertake detailed site-specific designs of monitoring and data collection facilities for one high-priority mine-site. The National Agency for Mineral Resources has selected Vexcel Corporation of Boulder , Colorado as the U.S. firm that will perform the feasibility study. In addition to the USTDA grant, Vexcel Corporation will contribute additional resources toward the study's completion.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.