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News Releases from Region 02

EPA Selects Sullivan County, New York to Receive a $200,000 Grant to Investigate Contaminated Properties

05/31/2017
Contact Information: 
Elias Rodriguez (rodriguez.elias@epa.gov)
(212) 637-3664

(New York, N.Y. – May 31, 2017) Sullivan County, New York, was among 172 communities across the country selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today 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.”

Funds from the EPA grant will be used to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community outreach related to Sullivan County’s brownfield sites with a focus on the urban centers of Monticello, Liberty and South Fallsburg. Site revitalization plans include:

  • Redevelopment of structures located in urban centers;
  • Encouragement of spin-off development associated with agritourism and light industry on Brownfield sites;
  • Improvement of the Route 17 and Route 17B corridors; and
  • Green building practices.

In addition to improving the county’s urban centers, Sullivan County will give preference to project proposals from contractors who hire community residents and/or environmental technicians graduating from the Fortune Society, Inc.’s Brownfield Job Training Program. The Fortune Society, a recipient of a 2017 Brownfields Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grant, supports individuals in successful reentry from prison and promotes alternatives to incarceration.

              Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between                     5% and more than 15%. 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 across the country 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://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-list-fy17-grants-selected-funding

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

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