The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded St. Lawrence County $1 million to help remove or address lead hazards in 52 housing units occupied by low-income families with children.

Focus areas will be housing in the villages of Gouverneur and Massena and the City of Ogdensburg, but funds will be available to serve any extraordinary needs elsewhere.

The county is pledging $100,000 in matching funds to the effort. “A bit more” than $767,000 will be spent on rehabilitation, with another $ 223,000 being spent on public education awareness, mitigation equipment and supplies and contractor training, a news release from the county said.

The balance will be spent on grant administration and program delivery.

The county expects to assist a minimum of 52 units with lead abatement for impacted houses occupied by households with low and moderate income.

Mitigation assistance, equipment and education materials would be available for any household.

The program is anticipated to be operational for up to three years, if necessary, county officials said.

“This initiative was generated by some creative thinkers in the County’s Public Health Department, the County’s Planning Office and the North Country Housing Council and we appreciate the support provided by Senators Schumer and Gillibrand of our application resulting in the funding announcement of earlier today,” St. Lawrence County legislature chairman Kevin Acres, R-Madrid, said in a prepared statement.

“Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of children impacted by lead contamination in St. Lawrence County and this funding will go a long way to both improving conditions for families with lead risks within their homes as well as improving awareness of and education about this issue,” Dana McGuire, county public health director, said in a prepared statement.