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Oklahoma City nonprofit awarded $25,000 from EPA

Release Date: 07/29/2008
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

Latino Community Development Agency will use grant to build rooftop garden

(Dallas, Texas – July 29, 2008) The Latino Community Development Agency has been awarded $25,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to help build a community rooftop garden at the former JC Penney building in Oklahoma City.

Funding for the project is part of more than $500,000 in grants announced today by EPA for 16 Brownfields Sustainability Pilots nationwide.

“EPA continues to use the brownfields program to stimulate both environmental and economic success,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “These pilots will demonstrate best practices that can be used by other communities across the country.”

The LCDA project will be designed to incorporate effective storm water management systems. Today’s grant is in addition to the $200,000 LCDA was awarded from EPA in April to redevelop the former commercial retail property. Future plans for the property include locating LCDA offices at the site, which will allow the agency to expand its child, social, and education services to the city’s Latino residents.

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of environmental contamination. Since the beginning of the program in 1995, EPA’s south central region has leveraged $2.3 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, helped create 10,700 jobs and supported the assessment of 750 properties.

Additional information on the Brownfields Sustainability Pilots is available at https://www.epa.gov/brownfields.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit https://www.epa.gov/region6.