News Releases from Region 02
EPA Selects Trenton, New Jersey to Receive a $200,000 Grant to Clean Up and Revitalize Contaminated Property
(New York, N.Y. – May 31, 2017) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Regional Administrator Catherine McCabe was joined today by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin and Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson to announce a $200,000 grant to the City of Trenton to clean up the Federated Metals site located at 300 Enterprise Avenue. The funding is being awarded under the EPA’s Brownfields Program, which helps communities assess, clean up, and 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.”
Trenton will use the EPA grant to clean up a site used by the Federated Metals Corporation from approximately 1925 to 1980. The most significant contamination at the site is petroleum from numerous underground storage tanks. While six underground storage tanks were removed and 36,000 gallons of petroleum impacted groundwater were treated, impacted soil and groundwater remain, threatening the adjacent Assunpink Creek. Once the site is fully cleaned up, Trenton plans to turn the site into a vibrant industrial park with a trail that links to regional trail systems such as the Assunpink Greenway and the D&R Canal towpath.
Assessment grants provide funding for a recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites, while cleanup grants provide funding for a recipient to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. To date, the City of Trenton has received a total of $6.8 million in brownfield grants.
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
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2.
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