Several local businesses received state grants through the Department of Environmental Protection.

In Carbon County, the Panther Valley Mini-Mall, Lansford, received $3,639. In Schuylkill County, C&R VIP, no address given, received $9,447; Cocoa Hut 100, Mahanoy City, $5,335; Fanelli Warehousing & Distribution Center, Pottsville, $6,086; Heckman & Laudeman, Orwigsburg, $3,438; and Losch Realty, Schuylkill Haven, $9,500.The grants are among $996,713 distributed to 134 small businesses to invest in energy efficiency or pollution prevention projects.Gov. Tom Corbett announced the grants on Monday.Pennsylvania's Small Business Advantage Grant program, funded through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, helps businesses with 100 or fewer employees. It provides 50-percent matching reimbursement grants of up to $9,500 to implement projects that will save 25 percent annually in pollution-prevention or energy-related costs.The grants will create more than $3.7 million in private-sector investment in small businesses.Examples of eligible projects include high-efficiency HVAC and insulation upgrades, high-efficiency lighting to save energy, installation of energy-efficient heat pumps and new auxiliary power units that help large trucks reduce time spent with idling engines.Since 2004, the program has awarded in excess of $8.5 million in more than 1776 small businesses statewide.For more information about how the DEP can help support small businesses or about future Small Business Advantage Grant programs, contact DEP's Office of the Small Business Ombudsman at 717-772-8909 or via email at

epadvantagegrant@pa.gov.