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$1.4 Million in Brownfields Grants to Cleanup and Revitalize Communities in North Carolina
Release Date: 05/24/2012
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183, pinkney.james@epa.gov
(Atlanta - May 24, 2012) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it plans to award five communities in North Carolina with brownfield grants for new investments to provide funding necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting human health.
“EPA is certainly excited about the opportunity for communities in the Southeast Region to realize sustainable environmental results,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator, Gwen Keyes Fleming. “Through EPA’s Brownfields Program we support not just environmental revitalization but economic revitalization. Each of these communities will receive funding to lay the groundwork for future investments in their community vitality and resiliency.”
The North Carolina brownfield grant recipients are:
· Town of Cooleemee ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· City of Greenville ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· City of Havelock ($200,00 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
· City of Hickory ($200,00 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
· City of Wilson ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
"Restored Brownfield properties can serve as cornerstones for rebuilding struggling communities. These grants will be the first step in getting pollution out and putting jobs back into neighborhoods across the country,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Clean, healthy communities are places where people want to live, work and start businesses. We're providing targeted resources to help local partners transform blighted, contaminated areas into centers of economic growth."
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America. In 2011, EPA’s brownfields program leveraged 6,447 jobs and $2.14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds. Since its inception EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. More than 18,000 properties have been assessed, and over 700 properties have been cleaned up. Brownfields grants also target under-served and low income neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.
More information on the FY 2012 grant recipients: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
More information on EPA’s brownfields program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields success stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
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