Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7,999,560 from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Kentucky while advancing environmental justice.
EPA selected ten communities in Kentucky to receive grants totaling more than $7,999,560 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 largest ever funding 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.”
"This historic investment of more than $35 million for communities across the Southeast will help address suspected contamination of urban and suburban properties that dates back to the Industrial Revolution," said EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman. "Brownfields and other contaminated properties often are located in environmental justice communities where residents are disproportionately impacted, thus making these awards especially critical."
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.
Funding Breakdown:
The following organizations in Kentucky have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs:
The City of Ashland has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 16 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to prepare eight cleanup plans and to conduct community engagement activities including developing a Community Involvement Plan. The target area for this grant is the Convention District in the City of Ashland. Priority sites include a former hardware store and warehouse, a former automotive repair shop, a former commercial storefront, a former office and warehouse used by a residential renovation contractor, a former radiator and auto body repair shop, a former motorcycle repair and paint shop, a former dry cleaner, and three former gas stations.
The City of Beattyville has selected $499,939 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant funds will be used to clean up the WPA Building located at 337 Main Street. The site was used as the city jail and firehouse since 1939 and is now closed due to the presence of metals and inorganic contaminants. The site’s central location and community significance make it an ideal catalyst project to spark additional revitalization of Beattyville’s historic Main Street district. Grant funds also will be used to support community education and outreach activities.
The Big Sandy Area Development District has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 12 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to prepare eight cleanup plans and to conduct community engagement activities including developing a Community Involvement Plan. The target area for this grant is the Five-County Big Sandy Area Development District with a focus on the City of Paintsville. Priority sites include a former office supply store, a former auto parts store, a former clothing store, a former bank, a former hospital, a former commercial printing business, two former gas stations, and a former dry cleaner.
The Caldwell County Board of Education has been selected for a $499,900 Brownfields Cleanup Grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant funds will be used to clean up the 16,500-square-foot Butler Campus Annex Building at 612 West Washington Street in the City of Princeton. The cleanup site historically was used as classrooms for middle school students and later for GED and community college students. Currently, the building is closed to public use. It is contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs, and inorganic contaminants.
Carroll County has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 20 Phase I and ten Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to inventory sites, complete six cleanup plans, and support community outreach activities. The target area for this grant is the Carrollton Corridor in the City of Carrolton. Priority sites include a former furniture factory and a dump site.
Frontier Housing, Inc., has been selected for a$1,999,900 Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Former Hayswood Hospital at 20 West Fourth Street in the City of Maysville. From 1886 to 1908, the 1.8-acre cleanup property was developed as a private seminary for female students. In 1923, a two-story hospital was constructed on the site with additional floors added in 1952 and again in 1960. The hospital closed in 1983 and has remained vacant since. It is contaminated with heavy metals and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community involvement and outreach activities.
The Green River Area Development District has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 15 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to prepare eight cleanup plans and to conduct community engagement activities including developing a Community Involvement Plan. The target areas for this grant are the Cities of Providence and Sebree. Priority sites include former auto shops, two former coal mines, a former clothing factory, a former gas station, and several vacant commercial buildings in various states of deterioration.
OakPointe Centre, Inc. has been selected for a $999,821 Brownfields Cleanup. Grant funds will be used to clean up the former Palm Beach factory at 419 Bourne Avenue in Somerset. The building was erected in 1946 by Somerset Industries, a corporation formed by local citizens interested in the development of their community. The site was formerly used for men’s clothing and cardboard manufacturing and is contaminated with heavy metals and inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities and prepare a cleanup plan.
You can read more about this year’s MARC selectees, here.
Non-competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program
The Agency is announcing $3,000,000 in non-competitive supplemental funding to one successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs that have already achieved success in their work to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites. RLF Grants provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. The funding announced today will help communities continue to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfield sites. The following South Carolina organizations have been selected to receive non-competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program.
In addition to the $3,305,850 in EPA funds already awarded, the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) has been selected to receive an additional $1,000,000 because it has a high-performing RLF program with significantly depleted funds. The RLF program has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to six cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects highlighted for use of the BIL funding include work on the Smoketown Community Care Project, which will support Mayor Craig Greenberg’s initiative for additional affordable housing. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in Jefferson County.
In addition to the $1,975,000 in EPA funds already awarded, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) has been selected to receive an additional $1,000,000 because it has a high-performing RLF program with significantly depleted funds. The RLF program has successfully made loans or subgrants leading to eight cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Potential projects highlighted for use of the BIL funding include cleanup of Brownfields properties throughout the Commonwealth, including a focus on sites assessed through the EPA Community-Wide Assessment grant program and the numerous but smaller-scale projects of removing lead and asbestos from historical buildings. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
You can read more about this year’s RLF recipients, here.
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.