News Releases from Region 08

EPA provides $500K to City of Trinidad (Colo.) to advance the cleanup and revitalization of properties

Funds part of $54 million to clean up and redevelop Brownfields sites across the country

(Denver, Colo. - May 28, 2015) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the City of Trinidad, Colorado $500K in Brownfields grant funding to expand local efforts to assess, clean up and redevelop properties as part of a Brownfields Coalition that includes the Town of Aguilar and Las Animas County, Colorado. Today's announcement is among 243 EPA grant investments totaling $54.3 million to 147 communities across the U.S. These grants will provide communities with funding necessary to assess, clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

The City of Trinidad, the Town of Aguilar and Las Animas County will use the EPA Brownfields funds to inventory, assess and clean up mine-scarred lands and abandoned rail corridors in targeted areas throughout communities in Las Animas County. The City and its partners will focus these activities on abandoned mines, waste rock, dumps, tailings, and waste piles, which can contain heavy metals and other hazardous pollutants, and pose a risk to residents and nearby waterways. The City of Trinidad will serve as the lead Coalition partner and will work closely with the county and smaller communities to prioritize projects that eliminate environmental risks and offer potential redevelopment opportunities.

"EPA Brownfields grants open doors by helping communities transform blighted properties into public and economic assets," said EPA regional administrator, Shaun McGrath. "These types of investments will address contamination and create new opportunities for people to live, play, and do business."

There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA's Brownfields program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse these brownfields sites. Since the inception of the program in 1995, cumulative brownfield 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.

More information on Brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/

More Brownfields information:
Program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm