News Releases from Region 09
EPA awards $467,000 brownfields grant to Solano County Water Agency
SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the Solano County Water Agency, in collaboration with the Westside Sacramento Integrated Water Management Group, will receive $467,378 in federal grant funds to assess contamination from abandoned mines in Lake, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties, Calif. This coalition of counties are among 147 communities nationwide receiving funding to assess and clean up historically contaminated properties, also known as brownfields, for reuse and development.
"EPA is committed to helping communities strengthen their local economy by cleaning up abandoned industrial and commercial properties - places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are needed most," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "Solano County Water Agency and their coalition partners will use these funds to address abandoned mine properties that may be reused for open space, trails, and habitat restoration."
Solano County Water Agency will assess and prioritize mine-scarred brownfields on private lands that may be revitalized for public benefit, including open space, trails, economic development, habitat restoration, and water quality improvement. Approximately 100 abandoned mines are located in the upper Cache Creek and Putah Creek Watersheds of the inter-coastal mountain range west of the Sacramento River in Lake, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties.
Since the inception of EPA's brownfields program in 1995, cumulative 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 assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.
More information on EPA's brownfields program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
More information on the Solano County Water Agency: http://www.scwa2.com/