Brownfields funding could lead to demo work

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it has selected 151 communities to receive 154 grant awards totaling $66.5 million in brownfields funding through its Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grants.

This funding is intended to support assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Approximately 50 percent of selected recipients will be receiving EPA Brownfields Grant funding for the first time and more than 85 percent are located in or serving small communities.

“Through our Brownfields Program, EPA is delivering on the Biden Administration’s commitment to lifting up and protecting overburdened communities across America, especially communities that have experienced long periods of disinvestment and decay,” says EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These assessment and cleanup grants will not only support economic growth and job creation, but they will also empower communities to address the environmental, public health, and social issues associated with contaminated land.”

The grant announcement includes $15.5 million for 36 Cleanup Grants, which will provide funding to carry out demolition and cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the recipient. The balance of the funding will go toward assessment and planning activities or grants that may include enough to also fund some demolition and cleanup work.

The Cleanup Grants awarded are for $500,000 or less. Among the cleanup efforts receiving the $500,000 maximum are a sawmill site cleanup in Crescent Mills, California; the Fox West Theatre site in Trinidad, Colorado; a former CSX railyard in Irvine, Kentucky; the former Merrimac paper mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts; the Hotel Louise site in Washington, North Carolina; the Ohio Leatherworks site in Girard, Ohio; and the former Penn-McKee Hotel site in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

The complete list of the fiscal year 2021 projects selected for funding can be found on this web page.