Today, near a brownfield site in historic downtown Clinton, Iowa, EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister presented a $500,000 ceremonial check to the City of Clinton as a Brownfields Cleanup Grant selectee. McCollister was joined by city leaders Mayor Scott Maddasion and City Administrator Matt Brooke.
EPA has selected the City of Clinton for this grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant funds will be used to clean up the South 4th Street Property located on the 1000 block of South 4th Street. The cleanup site consists of two- and three-story buildings that were used for residential apartments and retail businesses, including a grocery store, laundromat, hardware store, and restaurant. The buildings have been vacant for over a decade are in disrepair, and are contaminated with asbestos containing materials. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community engagement activities.
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.
“Downtowns are the heart and soul of many communities throughout the heartland,” McCollister said. “We are proud to partner with the City of Clinton, and we share their commitment to cleaning up contaminated sites in the area to protect our environment and Clinton residents, while allowing for future redevelopment.”
“The City of Clinton is honored that EPA Region 7 selected our city to receive a $500,000 Brownfields Grant,” Brooke said. “This grant will enable Clinton to engage in a vital environmental cleanup project. This will allow the removal of four, multiple-storied, nuisance and vacant buildings that are visible to all traveling to and from our historic Clinton Downtown. It will provide future economic growth and will completely change the entrance and exit to our downtown. Partnering with EPA, IDNR, East Central Intergovernmental Association, and our downtown, Clinton will continue to work toward a cleaner and greener Clinton for people to live, work and enjoy.”
Background
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites. EPA anticipates making all the recently announced awards, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged over $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged nearly 260,000 jobs from both public and private sources. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leveraged 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 Aug. 8-11, 2023, in Detroit. 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).
- Learn more about Brownfields Grants
- Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields Program