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EPA ADMINISTRATOR WHITMAN ANNOUNCES $21.5 MILLION TO REVITALIZE BLIGHTED COMMUNITIES IN 17 STATES

Release Date: 05/03/2002
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Environmental News

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman today announced $21.5 million in Brownfields grants to clean up and revitalize blighted communities in 17 states.
In a ceremony in Oakland County, Michigan, Whitman said, “We are here today to announce the
awarding of $21 million dollars in funds to help clean up Brownfields across America. This money will go to help communities turn neighborhood eyesores into community assets, much like what is going on here at this site.

“Brownfields restoration is a win-win for everyone,” Whitman added, “from the children who have new places to play when a Brownfield is turned into a ballfield, to the parents who have new jobs when a Brownfield becomes the site of a new office building or a retail store.”

Today’s grants are awarded under EPA’s Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund program to capitalize state and local programs that in turn provide no- interest or low- interest loans to businesses to carry out cleanup activities at Brownfields properties. Federal capitalization of these loan programs provides necessary resources that enable state and local governments to produce or leverage billions of dollars in other public and private sector funding to revitalize economically depressed communities.

The state governments awarded grants today include Alabama ($1 million), Arkansas ($1 million), Colorado ($800,000), Hawaii ($2 million), Kansas($1 million), New Mexico ($1 million), South Carolina($900,000) and Washington state ($800,000). Local governments awarded grants, in addition to Oakland County, Mich.($1 million), include: Coralville, Iowa ($1 million); El Paso, Texas ($1 million); Kenosha, Wis.($1 million); Milwaukee, Wis. ($1 million); Madera County, Calif.($1 million); Santa Rosa, Calif.($1 million); Monroe, Mich.($1 million); Taylor, Mich.($1 million); Montgomery County, Pa.($1 million); Southern Windsor Regional Planning Commission, Vt.($1 million); Springfield, Ohio ($1 million); and Worcester, Mass. ($1 million). To date, EPA has awarded 143 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grants to 39 states and the District of Columbia totaling almost $91 million.

For every dollar of federal money spent on Brownfields cleanup activities, cities and states produce or leverage $2.48 in private investment. To date, EPA’s Brownfields program has leveraged over $4 billion in public and private investments that have turned abandoned industrial properties into thriving economic centers, useful recreational areas and beneficial open spaces.

In addition to the Revolving Loan Fund program, EPA’s Brownfields program also funds state and local governments through assessment demonstration pilots and job training pilots. All of these pilot programs are intended to provide states, tribes, municipalities and communities with useful information and strategies to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. These grants spur partnerships among state and local governments, community groups, investors and developers to get sites cleaned up and ready for community use instead of remaining a liability to the community and a continuing threat to public health and the environment.

Earlier this year, President Bush signed bipartisan legislation that will encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of old industrial properties -- cleaning up our environment, creating jobs and protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. In addition, the President’s FY 03 budget request doubled the funds available through the EPA in FY 02 -- from $98 million to $200 million -- to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites

For further information about EPA’s Brownfields program go to https://www.epa.gov/brownfields


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