United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy has announced the awarding of 218 new brownfield sites cleanup grants totaling $55.2 million to 131 communities throughout the U.S. Recipients will receive approximately $200,000 to $820,000 in funding toward what the EPA calls cooperative agreements.
The Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) grants go to communities the EPA describes as “underserved and economically disadvantaged, including neighborhoods where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed.”
Among industrial sites targeted by the grants are a former Uniroyal Tire complex in Chicopee, Massachusetts; the south lot of the former Racine Steel Castings plant in Racine, Wisconsin; and property that formerly housed Coastal Metals in Merrimac, Massachusetts.
The state of Maine received 20 ARC grants, more than any other state, according to the list released by the EPA. Close behind was Massachusetts with 18 grants followed by Ohio with nine.
“These grants will empower communities to transform idle, languishing lands into vibrant hubs for business, jobs and recreation,” says McCarthy. “It’s all about providing that initial funding, and sparking that first conversation to set stalled sites on a path toward smart, safe redevelopment that directly benefits communities.”
EPA’s Brownfields Program strives to expand the ability of communities to recycle vacant and abandoned properties for new, productive reuses, says the agency.
It cites as one of its examples, Dubuque, Iowa’s new $200,000 cleanup grant that “will address contamination at the Blum property, a former scrap yard and recycling facility, and will lead to the development of a pocket park for residents of the distressed Washington Neighborhood within Dubuque.”
In addition to the benefits gained by creating more community spaces, this funding will also build upon Dubuque’s 2010 DOT TIGER grant and 2015 EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant which support the revitalization of the Washington Neighborhood.
Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15 percent, says EPA. Data also shows that brownfields clean ups can increase overall property values within a one-mile radius, according to EPA.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated such sites in America, says the agency. More information on the EPA’s brownfields program and ARC grants can be found at this link.