The 245 grantees include tribes and communities in 39 states across the country, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) grants and Revolving Loan Fund Supplemental grants. The grants awarded will assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial properties.
"These grants will be the first step in getting pollution out and putting jobs back into neighborhoods across the country," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Clean, healthy communities are places where people want to live, work and start businesses. We're providing targeted resources to help local partners transform blighted, contaminated areas into centers of economic growth."
Nearly half of the grantees this year are new awardees who demonstrate a high level of commitment for undertaking specific projects and leveraging the funding to move those projects forward. Approximately 29 percent of the grants are being awarded to non-urban areas with populations of 100,000 or less, and16 percent are being awarded to "micro" communities with populations of 10,000 or less.
Since its inception, EPA’s Brownfields investments have leveraged more than $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. More than 18,000 properties have been assessed, and over 700 properties have been cleaned up. Brownfields grants also target under-served and low-income neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.
See list of all awarded Brownfields grants by state or learn more about EPA's Brownfields Program.