SARALAND, Ala. — EPA Region 4 Administrator Kevin McOmber and Saraland Mayor Joe McDonald highlighted brownfields revitalization investments in the small South Alabama city on Sept. 23, showcasing federal efforts to convert contaminated industrial sites into community assets.
The joint appearance by a senior EPA official and the local mayor signals a community-level partnership model for environmental cleanup and economic redevelopment, according to EPA.
Brownfields grants are one of EPA’s primary tools for driving simultaneous environmental remediation and economic development. The program funds the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of properties where expansion or reuse is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances or pollutants.
Saraland, a city of approximately 14,000 residents near Mobile, underscores that brownfields investment reaches smaller communities — not just major metropolitan areas. Small cities and towns often lack the resources to assess and clean up contaminated properties on their own, leaving toxic sites as economic dead zones that depress surrounding property values and pose health risks.
Brownfields cleanup creates construction and remediation jobs during the cleanup phase and enables long-term economic development once sites are returned to productive use. Cleaned-up properties can support new businesses, housing, parks or community facilities.
EPA’s brownfields program has invested billions of dollars nationwide since its creation, with the agency estimating that every federal dollar invested in brownfields leverages additional private and public investment. The program has bipartisan support in Congress and has been reauthorized multiple times.
The Saraland project reflects the broader pattern of brownfields investment in the Gulf Coast region, where legacy industrial activity has left numerous contaminated sites in communities that lack independent cleanup capacity.