The fight against blight has taken shape around the area.

Municipalities are working to create blight plans, find money to raze dilapidated properties or hold homeowners responsible for fixing the problems before they become hazards.

On Thursday, Carbon County Commissioner Chris Lukasevich announced that the county received the $1.053 million in funding for the COVID-19 ARPA Whole Home Repair program, which aims to provide grants to homeowners and landlords to fix up properties in disrepair. The program is overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Lukasevich noted that this amount is approximately $6,900 more than what was originally earmarked for Carbon and this is because some counties chose not to accept the money.

The commissioners are now in the process of figuring out administering the program, and will work with municipalities to create an application process for homeowners to use to apply for funds.

The focus of the grants will be for homes to remediate, eliminate or prevent further degradation of blighted properties with priority to properties being condemned or prioritized by municipalities; as well as to improve energy and water efficiency or increase accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

The funds will be available to homeowners whose household income does not exceed 80% of the area median income.