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Arkansas to get cleaner, greener with $800,000 from EPA

Release Date: 04/07/2008
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

More than $5 million in brownfields funding awarded across region

(Dallas, Texas – April 7, 2008) Several groups in Arkansas will be working to transform polluted properties into community assets with the help of $800,000 in brownfields grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The grants were announced today by EPA to support cleanup efforts by the City of Pine Bluff, Camden Port Authority, and Riverfront Baring Cross Neighborhood Renewal Organization.

“EPA continues to use the brownfields program to stimulate environmental and economic success in our communities,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “This program is a great example of how federal and local groups can work together to turn contaminated properties into viable developments.”

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties with redevelopment potential that suffer from known or perceived environmental contamination. More than $5 million in brownfields grants were announced today across EPA Region 6, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Arkansas’ brownfields recipients include the following:
* City of Pine Bluff - $400,000 to inventory sites with hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination, conduct assessments, and support community outreach. Assessment of the city’s brownfields properties is expected to spur real estate development.

* Riverfront Baring Cross Neighborhood Renewal Organization - $200,000 to clean up the Full Counsel site on River Road in North Little Rock. The site was used previously to dispose of demolition materials and for public dumping. Once the cleanup is completed, the organization plans to incorporate the site into Rockwater Village, a planned neighborhood development.

* Camden Port Authority - $200,000 to clean up the Moore/Buck site on Adams Avenue in Camden. The site was once used as a stave mill and auto repair center and is contaminated with benzene, toluene, and other petroleum products. Future plans for the property include redevelopment into business space, warehouses, and a riverfront park.

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. The brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America's estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. Nationally, brownfields assistance has attracted more than $11.3 billion in private investment, helped create more than 48,000 jobs and resulted in the assessment and cleanup of nearly 12,000 properties.

Additional information on the brownfields recipients and their projects is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm.

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

An EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_arkansas.