Chosen grant targets evaluation and reuse plans for Denison Municipal Utility Energy Plant and Avenue C websites

Could 17, 2022

LENEXA, KAN. (MAY 17, 2022) – The Biden administration, by way of the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA), introduced that Denison, Iowa, has been chosen to obtain $400,000 of the $254.5 million in Brownfields grants for 265 chosen communities.

Denison was chosen for community-wide evaluation work and the event of reuse plans for websites together with the Denison Municipal Utility Energy Plant and Avenue C websites. This chosen grant additionally helps the creation of a mission webpage and Spanish translation providers for outreach actions.

These grants are supported by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, which offers a complete of $1.5 billion to advance environmental justice, spur financial revitalization, and create jobs by cleansing up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties.

Brownfield initiatives can vary from cleansing up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination to assessing and cleansing up deserted properties that after managed harmful chemical compounds. As soon as cleaned up, former brownfield properties will be redeveloped into productive makes use of, similar to grocery shops, reasonably priced housing, well being facilities, museums, parks, and photo voltaic farms.

The Brownfields program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which goals to ship no less than 40% of the advantages of sure authorities packages to deprived communities. Roughly 86% of the communities chosen to obtain funding as a part of as we speak’s announcement have proposed initiatives in traditionally underserved areas.

“With as we speak’s announcement, we’re turning blight into would possibly for communities throughout America,” stated EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “EPA’s Brownfields program breathes new life into communities by serving to to show contaminated and probably harmful websites into productive financial contributors. Due to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, we’re considerably ramping up our investments in communities, with the majority of our funding going to locations which were overburdened and underserved for a lot too lengthy.”

“EPA Area 7 is proud to announce the number of town of Denison to obtain its first-ever Brownfields grant,” stated EPA Area 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “The Brownfields program has a confirmed document of empowering communities by way of advantages starting from native job creation to elevated property values. This funding will uplift Denison and supply measurable and significant change to those that reside on this rural group.”

“On behalf of town of Denison, I’m extraordinarily excited and grateful that the group shall be partnering with the EPA on a Brownfields Evaluation Grant to assist us clear up key areas of our group,” stated Denison Mayor Pam Soseman. “It will additional our potential to revitalize vacant areas into usable areas.”

“On behalf of the mayor and metropolis council of town of Denison, Iowa, we’re very excited to companion with the EPA on the award of a Brownfields Evaluation Grant,” stated Denison Metropolis Supervisor and Engineer Terence Crawford. “That is our first Brownfields mission, and we’re anxious to take full benefit of the chance. The federal Brownfields fund permits us to proactively shield the atmosphere and the well being of our residents, whereas serving to to transition blighted or underutilized properties into property that strengthen our group. Reinvesting sustainably inside our current footprint will get rid of pricey infrastructure extensions, create jobs, and generate extra sources of tax income.”

EPA’s Brownfields grants and different technical help packages, just like the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative, are additionally serving to to construct the clear vitality financial system. Right now’s announcement features a former coal mine in Greene County, Pennsylvania, that may turn out to be a 10-megawatt photo voltaic farm, and a former dump web site within the Fort Belknap Indian Group in Montana that shall be transformed to a photo voltaic farm, saving native residents an estimated $2.8 million in vitality prices over 25 years, amongst many others.

Right now’s announcement consists of roughly $180 million from the historic $1.5 billion funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation to assist flip brownfield websites throughout the nation into hubs of financial development and job creation, together with over $75 million from fiscal yr 2022 appropriations.

The funding consists of:

• $112.8 million for 183 selectees for Evaluation Grants, which is able to present funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and group outreach.
• $18.2 million for 36 selectees for Cleanup Grants, which is able to present funding to hold out cleanup actions at brownfield websites owned by the recipient.
• $16.3 million for 17 selectees for Revolving Mortgage Fund Grants, which is able to present funding for recipients to supply loans and subgrants to hold out cleanup actions at brownfield websites.
• $107 million for 39 high-performing Revolving Mortgage Fund Grant recipients to assist communities proceed their work to hold out cleanup and redevelopment initiatives on contaminated brownfield properties. Supplemental funding for Revolving Mortgage Fund Grants is accessible to recipients which have depleted their funds and have viable cleanup initiatives prepared for work.

The record of chosen candidates is accessible on-line.

Since its inception in 1995, EPA’s investments in brownfield websites have leveraged over $35 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. This has led to important advantages for communities throughout the nation. For instance:

• Thus far, this funding has led to over 183,000 jobs in cleanup, development and redevelopment, and over 9,500 properties have been made prepared for reuse.
• Based mostly on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on common $20.43 for every EPA Brownfields greenback and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfields Grant funds expended on evaluation, cleanup, and revolving mortgage fund cooperative agreements.
• As well as, an educational peer-reviewed examine discovered that residential properties close to brownfield websites elevated in worth by 5% to fifteen% on account of cleanup actions.
• Lastly, analyzing knowledge close to 48 brownfields, EPA discovered an estimated $29 million to $97 million in extra tax income for native governments in a single yr after cleanup – two to seven occasions greater than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of these Brownfields websites.

“EPA’s Brownfields program is the true embodiment of turning adversity into alternative – it takes contaminated and probably hazardous locations and turns them into thriving turbines of financial prosperity,” stated Senate Committee on Setting and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper. “Right now’s announcement is nice information for the nation, as we unveil important investments from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation to assist extra communities profit from this transformative program.”

“Right now’s announcement is welcome information for the 149 million People who reside inside 3 miles of a brownfield web site,” stated Home Power and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone. “These funds, predominantly from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, will permit households throughout the nation to relaxation a bit simpler, realizing that a number of the most contaminated websites of their space will quickly be cleaned up, revitalized, and producing new jobs and financial alternatives. I’m grateful to Administrator Regan and the Biden administration for working so intently with Congress to prioritize the Brownfields program, and I’ll preserve combating to make sure each group – significantly these which were traditionally missed and underserved – receives the sources they want.”

“Final yr, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act into legislation, which supplied once-in-a-lifetime funding that’s essentially reworking our vital infrastructure,” stated Home Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio. “This Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation additionally included important funding to EPA’s Brownfields program for the cleanup of legacy poisonous contamination that scars our communities with hazardous, blighted, or underutilized properties and threatens the well being of our households and the environment. The grants being introduced as we speak proceed the profitable custom of the Brownfields remediation program, whereas concentrating on sources to these communities, each city and rural, that haven’t been in a position to take part in this system attributable to lack of local-technical capability or lack of native matching sources.”

Extra Background

A brownfield is a property for which the growth, redevelopment, or reuse could also be difficult by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Redevelopment made attainable by way of this system consists of the whole lot from grocery shops and reasonably priced housing to well being facilities, museums, greenways, and photo voltaic farms.

The subsequent Nationwide Brownfields Coaching Convention shall be held August 16-19, 2022, in Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma. Supplied each two years, this convention is the most important gathering of stakeholders centered on cleansing up and reusing former business and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this occasion with the Worldwide Metropolis/County Administration Affiliation (ICMA). Convention registration is open on-line.

Study extra about Brownfields grants. Study extra about EPA’s Brownfields program.

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