EPA awards $21.5M for brownfields revitalization
May 22, 2002—EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has announced $21.5 million in Brownfields grants to clean up and revitalize blighted communities in 17 states.
The grants are awarded under EPA’s Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund program to capitalize state and local programs that in turn provide no- interest or low- interest loans to businesses to carry out cleanup activities at Brownfields properties. Federal capitalization of these loan programs provides resources that enable state and local governments to produce or leverage billions of dollars in other public and private sector funding to revitalize economically depressed communities.
The state governments awarded grants today include Alabama ($1 million), Arkansas ($1 million), Colorado ($800,000), Hawaii ($2 million), Kansas($1 million), New Mexico ($1 million), South Carolina($900,000) and Washington state ($800,000). Local governments awarded grants, in addition to Oakland County, Mich.($1 million), include: Coralville, Iowa ($1 million); El Paso, Texas ($1 million); Kenosha, Wis.($1 million); Milwaukee, Wis. ($1 million); Madera County, Calif.($1 million); Santa Rosa, Calif.($1 million); Monroe, Mich.($1 million); Taylor, Mich.($1 million); Montgomery County, Pa.($1 million); Southern Windsor Regional Planning Commission, Vt.($1 million); Springfield, Ohio ($1 million); and Worcester, Mass. ($1 million). To date, EPA has awarded 143 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grants to 39 states and the District of Columbia totaling almost $91 million.
For every dollar of federal money spent on Brownfields cleanup activities, cities and states produce or leverage $2.48 in private investment. To date, EPA’s Brownfields program has leveraged over $4 billion in public and private investments.
In addition to the Revolving Loan Fund program, EPA’s Brownfields program also funds state and local governments through assessment demonstration pilots and job training pilots. All of these pilot programs are intended to provide states, tribes, municipalities and communities with strategies to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties.
For further information, contact the EPA’s Brownfields program.
