News Releases from Region 04

EPA Brownfields Funding Announced for Eight Communities in Mississippi

Funding for brownfields assessment and cleanup included in President Trump’s Budget

ATLANTA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected 172 communities across the country—including eight in Mississippi—to receive funding for brownfield site revitalization to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies.

“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods. EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow. I am very pleased the President’s budget recognizes the importance of these grants by providing continued funding for this important program.”

Additionally, the following community/communities in Mississippi were selected to receive grant funding for community-wide Brownfields assessment activities and cleanup planning:

• The City of Vicksburg will receive $400,000 for two brownfields cleanup grants ($383,500 for hazardous substances and $16,500 for petroleum). The funds will be used to clean up the 1832 Kuhn North Facility and the 1959 Kuhn South Facility of the former Kuhn Memorial Hospital, at 1422 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Both cleanup sites were part of a 12.8-acre former hospital, which has been vacant since 1989. They are contaminated with metals, PCBs, and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds for both sites also will be used to conduct air monitoring and support community involvement activities.

• Canton – $300,000 ($200,000 for hazardous substances and $100,000 for petroleum) to include an update of the City’s brownfields inventory.

• Clarksdale – $300,000 ($166,200 for hazardous substances and $133,800 for petroleum) to include an update of the City’s brownfields inventory. Assessment activities will focus on the 18th Street Neighborhood and the Brickyard Area.

• Crystal Springs – $300,000 ($123,000 for hazardous substances and $177,000 for petroleum) to include area-wide planning and the prioritization of the City’s brownfield sites.

• East Central Planning and Development District – $299,700 ($155,100 for hazardous substances and $144,600 for petroleum) to include an inventory and prioritization of brownfield sites. Assessment activities will focus on the Cities of Forest, Philadelphia and Meridian.

• Golden Triangle Planning and Development District, Inc. – $600,000 ($400,000 for hazardous substances and $200,000 for petroleum) to include the expansion of a brownfields inventory. Assessment activities will focus on four census tracts within Choctaw, Clay, Noxubee and Oktibbeha Counties. Partners include the cities of West Point and Starkville, and the counties of Choctaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Webster and Winston.

• Greenville – $300,000 ($200,000 for hazardous substances and $100,000 for petroleum) to include area-wide planning. One area of focus is the Lower Mississippi River Port Investment Initiative Area.

• Louisville – $400,000 ($205,000 for hazardous substances and $195,000 for petroleum) to include the prioritization of brownfields sites and begin area-wide planning. Assessment activities will focus on West Louisville, East Louisville, and southeast Winston County. Partners are the City of Noxapater and Winston County.

View the list of the FY 2017 applicants selected for funding here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-list-fy17-grants-selected-funding

Overview of the Funds Being Announced Today:

• $25 million to communities who are receiving assessment and cleanup funding for the first time.

• $17.5 million of the assessment and cleanup funding will benefit small and rural communities with populations less than 10,000.

• Recipients will each receive approximately $200,000 - $600,000 in funding to work on individual sites or several sites within their community.

• These funds will provide communities with resources necessary to determine the extent of site contamination, remove environmental uncertainties and clean up contaminated properties where needed.

Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15.2%. and can increase property values within 1.24 miles of that site. A study analyzing data near 48 brownfield sites shows that an estimated $29 to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to those brownfields.

As of May 2017, more than 124,759 jobs and $24 billion of public and private funding has been leveraged as a result of assessment grants and other EPA Brownfields grants. On average, $16.11 was leveraged for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 8.5 jobs leveraged per $100,000 of EPA brownfields funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.

About EPA’s brownfields program: https://epa.gov/brownfields

Successful Brownfields stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories

Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4

And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast