EPA Grants to Support Communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award 147 communities with Brownfields grants to protect public health and the environment, according to a press release

EPA's Brownfields grants provide resources early which is critical for the success of communities' ability to leverage additional partnerships and resources. The community leaders - represented by local governments, states, tribes, quasi-governmental organizations, and non-profit entities have demonstrated strong partnerships and plan to leverage the EPA grants with other public-private investments. They use an inclusive process to help spur the redevelopment of vacant, former manufacturing and commercial sites for broader revitalization in their downtowns. This results in a transformed economy and environment while addressing poverty and economic distress.

"Brownfield sites - because of their locations and associated infrastructure advantages - are community assets and a key component of the Obama Administration's efforts to provide tools to sustainably revitalize communities and foster economic development," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "These communities have demonstrated a plan to leverage their grants and partnerships to achieve economic and environmental revitalization to meet their needs for jobs. These critical EPA resources are going into communities with populations ranging from 89 to 1.4 million, and more than half under 100,000. The grants will help transform brownfield sites, such as former manufacturing and mill sites, into productive end uses which directly benefit community residents and create opportunities including increased housing options, recreational spaces, and jobs."

Among the communities selected for funding, more than thirty percent have been affected by plant closures, forty percent by significant economic disruptions, and forty-two percent by adverse natural disasters. The small City of Palatka, Florida for example, was declared an emergency area following the devastation of two tropical storms, and has also suffered economically from the closing of Georgia-Pacific paper towel manufacturing line and the lay-off of 130 employees from the regional water management company. Being selected for a $400,000 assessment grant will allow this town of just over 10,000 residents to support their downtown and riverfront redevelopment plans and help restore the local economy.

This latest funding advances EPA's broader commitment to making a visible difference in communities that focuses on better coordinating federal investments to help environmentally overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities address local priorities. Communities selected this year demonstrate a high level of preparedness to undertake specific projects as they have firm commitments of leveraged funds to move projects forward. An impressive forty-five percent of the recipients have secured public and private resources which directly align and further the efforts of proposed projects.

San Antonio, Texas, selected for a $400,000 assessment grant, will focus on three priority areas to restore urban waterways, attract commercial development, construct new multifamily housing, and sustainably reuse existing buildings. By creatively combining available resources, the city secured more than $470 million to advance community goals which will help ensure success of revitalizing the priority areas.

EPA continues to help new communities to address Brownfields sites plaguing their neighborhoods. First-time recipient Columbus, Indiana plans to use a $400,000 assessment grant award to perform assessments that align with and promote the city's strategic plan to expand residential and educational opportunities for its residents, enhance greenspace and boost the economy with new retail stores and services.

EPA's grant awards support both urban and rural communities in their efforts to address their brownfields concerns. More than fifty-five percent of the communities selected are cities and towns with populations of 100,000 or less, of which forty-four percent are very small rural communities with populations of 10,000 or less. The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, population 1,664, will use its $200,000 cleanup grant to remove contamination from the Former Housing Authority Building located in the middle of town and directly adjacent to an elementary school. Addressing contamination of the deteriorating building will enhance the environmental and public welfare of the resident and provide other direct community benefits by allowing the tribe to relocate their local Boys & Girls Club.

Approximately $17 million of the assessment and cleanup funding will go to applicants who are also Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant recipients and HUD-DOT-EPA partnership communities. This funding will help communities clean up and reuse brownfield sites to produce community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, create employment, education, social services, transportation options, infrastructure and commerce opportunities.

For example, the Camden Redevelopment Agency in New Jersey will receive three $200,000 cleanup grant awards, and a $200,000 assess grant which will lead to the redevelopment of a 3.6-acre mercury and lead contaminated Camden Laboratories site into mixed residential and commercial use. Clark County in Nevada will receive a $500,000 assessment coalition grant award to address the Maryland Parkway High Capacity Corridor in the heart of the Las Vegas' urban core. As the region's first multi-modal corridor, over the next 20 years, the development will generate much needed jobs and will spur additional development and investments in the area.

Since the inception of the EPA's Brownfields Program in 1995, cumulative brownfield program investments have leveraged more than $22 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 105,942 jobs nationwide. EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.

Source: EPA

Media

Taxonomy

• Environment
• Financing
• Governance & Planning