The EPA stated this week that it was allocating $76 million to invest in cleaning up contaminated sites in 40 states and four tribal areas throughout the nation.
The funds will be used to assess and clean up brownfields, or sites contaminated by hazardous chemicals currently unavailable for use. Brownfields may include gas stations, closed smelters, or old industrial sites.
There are 450,000 abandoned or contaminated waste sites in the United States currently, reports the EPA. The cleanup is expected to boost economic development and create jobs for communities currently hosting such brownfields.
The cleanup efforts are planned to specifically target underserved and disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The announcement, made in Lansing, Mich., by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, stated that $2.9 million would be given to rejuvenating efforts for seven Michigan communities.
“For a struggling auto community at the epicenter of the national economic crisis, we depend on the power of brownfields funding to energize Lansing’s local economy and create jobs,“ said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. ”With the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who played a key role in an extraordinary public-private partnership, we have transformed an old, abandoned power plant on our downtown riverfront into a new engine of prosperity and job growth for Michigan. More than 1,500 people spent 800,000 work-hours to complete this massive project, and another thousand permanent jobs will be retained and created in Lansing over the next few years. With the additional funds announced today, we will be able to replicate this success and put even more of our citizens back to work.”
In addition to planned cleanup projects for Michigan communities, the EPA grants and loans will fund projects in Milwaukee, Springfield, Mo.; Nassau County in New York; and Chicago, Ill.
In Milwaukee, the Redevelopment Authority was granted funds to clean up a contaminated site and replace it with a business park housing residential and retail infrastructure. The project is expected to create 800 jobs for the community.
In Nassau County, funds used to clean up currently unusable waterfront property are expected to create 7,700 jobs for the community. The project includes the building of a new hotel complex, affordable housing units, a waterfront park, restaurant and retail space, as well the county’s first ferry system.
In Illinois, the EPA has funded the United Neighborhood Organization, a Chicago Hispanic community-based organization that starts charter schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods, to clean up a contaminated former industrial site to create an elementary school for 575 students.
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