Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $4.5 million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Nevada while advancing environmental justice.

EPA selected four entities in Nevada to receive grants totaling more than $4.5 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this is the most funding ever awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.

These investments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.

“We’re working across the country to revitalize what were once dangerous and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, we’re moving further and faster than ever before to clean up contaminated sites, spur economic redevelopment, and deliver relief that so many communities have been waiting for,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might.”

“These Brownfields grants in Nevada are vital in EPA’s efforts to restore lands and the communities around them by removing harmful pollution and reviving the lands for beneficial uses,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Brownfields funds enable and empower communities to create healthier, safer and more equitable futures for themselves.”

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law I helped write and pass is delivering much-needed investments in communities across Nevada and creating good-paying jobs along the way,” said Senator Jacky Rosen. “I’m proud to have helped secure these funds to clean up and repurpose neglected brownfield sites to revitalize communities in our state.”

“Brownfields funding continues to make a real difference across Nevada by turning unusable, polluted land into real economic opportunity,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “I’ll always support efforts to spur economic development, create new jobs, and make it easier for Nevada communities to build new businesses, affordable housing, and public services.”

“We are so excited to receive this grant and we believe that this could be a turning point for the economic growth in our struggling community,” said Alyssa Burke, Grant Administrator for Mineral County.

"Northern Nevada Development Authority is excited to be once again the recipient of EPA Brownfield Grant Funding. These funds will provide us with needed resources to continue our work in diversifying the economy of our region, create job opportunities, and ensure a great quality of life for all Nevadans and their families,” said Amy Barnes, Director of Business Development at the Northern Nevada Development Authority.

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.

EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of its work. Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.

State Funding Breakdown:

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection

The following organizations in Nevada have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.

• City of Las Vegas, Cleanup Grant for $2,000,000: This grant will be used to clean up two parcels in Symphony Park, the largest brownfield site in Las Vegas. Remediation will further position the site for redevelopment into a cultural center, catalyzing other revitalization of the blighted downtown area.
• Mineral County, Cleanup Grant for $1,517,000: This grant will be used to clean the Babbitt Housing Area, a large site originally built to house Naval Ammunition Depot workers and their families. Mineral County expects cleanup of this property to make it more attractive to potential investors for commercial development, helping to create employment opportunities for the community.
• City of North Las Vegas, Assessment Grant for $498,750: The City of North Las Vegas will use this grant to conduct environmental site assessments in Downtown North Las Vegas, focusing on former gas stations, auto repair shops, and other sites with chemical contamination. Assessment of these sites will support re-use and infill of the Downtown area outlined by the City’s Strategic plans.
• Northern Nevada Development Authority, Assessment Grant for $500,000: This grant will allow the Northern Nevada Development Authority to support redevelopment of priority areas with the goal of reusing brownfield sites for new housing and for industrial, commercial and public services, which are greatly needed in northern Nevada communities.

You can read more about this year’s MARC selectees.

Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers and Research Grants

EPA is also announcing funding selection for two Brownfields technical assistance opportunities. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) selectees provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand brownfields-related subject matter, and guide them through the brownfield assessment, clean-up, and revitalization process. This assistance is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. This technical assistance is available to all stakeholders and comes at no cost to communities. The two funding opportunities announced today include the following:

1. EPA selected Center for Creative Land Recycling to receive $5 million to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the entire region under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program. This funding comes entirely from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
2. EPA is also expanding the scope of its technical assistance offerings under the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to include three new subject-specific grants totaling $2 million in three areas, including providing technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields; provide research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking tactics for brownfields revitalization.

For more information about Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research, please visit  https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-technical-assistance-and-research.

Additional Background:

EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged, from both public and private sources, nearly 260,000 jobs. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 8-11, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

• For more on Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding
• For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

Original source can be found here.