ATLANTA, Ga. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced
today, May 28, 2914, that it plans to award five communities in Mississippi with
brownfield grants for new investments to provide communities with
funding necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost
local economies and create jobs while protecting human health.
"Not only are these funds protecting the environment and public health by helping communities clean up blighted toxic waste sites, there are new job growth opportunities for local economies to leverage through these investments," said Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator.
"With cities looking at how to combat the impacts of climate change, it's more important than ever for communities to innovate new ways to retrofit formerly polluted, unused sites for renewable energy use."
The Mississippi brownfield grant recipients are:
-- City of Biloxi ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and $200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Corinth ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and $200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Gautier ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Laurel ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- Monroe County ($350,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
More information on EPA’s brownfields:
"Not only are these funds protecting the environment and public health by helping communities clean up blighted toxic waste sites, there are new job growth opportunities for local economies to leverage through these investments," said Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator.
"With cities looking at how to combat the impacts of climate change, it's more important than ever for communities to innovate new ways to retrofit formerly polluted, unused sites for renewable energy use."
The Mississippi brownfield grant recipients are:
-- City of Biloxi ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and $200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Corinth ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and $200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Gautier ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- City of Laurel ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
-- Monroe County ($350,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
EPA’s Brownfield Program empowers
states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent,
assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site
is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance,
pollutant, or contaminant. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfield Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around
the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive
grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants,
and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and
tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
A total of approximately $23.5
million is going to communities that have been impacted by plant closures. Other
selected recipients include tribes and communities in 44 states across the
country; and at least 50 of the grants are going to
HUD-DOT-EPA grant recipient communities.
Since the inception
of the EPA’s Brownfield program in 1995, cumulative brownfield program
investments have leveraged more than $21 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 93,000 jobs
nationwide. These projects demonstrate the positive
impact a small investment of federal brownfield funding can have on
community revitalization through leveraging jobs, producing clean energy, and
providing recreation opportunities for surrounding neighborhoods. EPA’s
Brownfield Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to
work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfield sites.
More information on brownfield grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
More information on EPA’s brownfields:
Program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
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with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4
And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast