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EPA Grants to Help Revitalize Georgia Cities of Millen, Tifton, and Wadley

Release Date: 05/12/2006
Contact Information: Laura Niles, 404-562-8353, niles.laura@epa.gov

(ATLANTA – May 12, 2006) The cities of Millen, Tifton and Wadley in Georgia have been named as successful applicants of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields assessment grants that promote the redevelopment of abandoned and contaminated or potentially contaminated waste sites. The combined total of Brownfields grant funds for assessment of properties in Georgia will be $550,000.

Millen will receive $200,000 in petroleum grant funds to perform environmental site assessments on abandoned properties that originally were used for light industrial or commercial purposes, including gas stations, manufacturing shops, and machine shops. Funds will also be used for cleanup planning.

Tifton will receive $150,000 in assessment grant funds to conduct environmental site assessments of the former Horizon Mill property, which may be contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Funds will also be used for cleanup planning, community outreach and to monitor the health of communities surrounding the site.

Wadley will receive $200,000 in petroleum grant funds to perform environmental site assessments along rural roads and in the city’s primary economic areas, in areas where gas stations, manufacturing facilities, and machine and agriculture shops once stood.

In the Southeast, 22 applicants were selected to receive grants for assessment or cleanup of properties. Nationally, communities in 44 states and two territories, as well as three tribes will share $69.9 million in grants to help transform community eyesores into community gems. Since the beginning of the brownfields program, EPA has awarded 883 assessment grants totaling $225.4 million, 202 revolving loan fund grants totaling $186.7 million, and 238 cleanup grants totaling $42.7 million.

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In January 2002, President Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which authorizes up to $250 million in funds annually for brownfields grants. The 2002 law expanded the definition of what is considered a brownfield, so communities may now focus on mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs.

More information on the grant recipients in the Southeast and throughout the nation: epa.gov/brownfields/archive/pilot_arch.htm

More information on the Brownfields program: epa.gov/brownfields