On May 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will be awarding over $300 million in grants as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The funding is intended to assist states, tribal nations, local governments, and non-profit organizations in assessing and cleaning up polluted brownfield sites across the country. This investment is facilitated through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Programs.
The aim of these programs is to transform previously polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets. They also aim to create jobs and stimulate economic revitalization in communities that are heavily burdened by pollution.
A total of 178 communities will receive 181 grant awards amounting to $231 million through EPA’s MAC Grant Programs. Additionally, $68 million in supplemental funding will be provided for 31 existing high-performing Brownfields RLF Grant Programs. Grow America, an RLF Technical Assistance provider, has been selected for an estimated $3 million in grant funding.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the awards in Philadelphia alongside Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon at a local brownfield site near Bartram’s Mile.
“Far too many communities across America have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites,” said President Joe Biden. “Under my Administration, we are making that a reality by ensuring the historic resources from my Investing in America agenda reach communities that need it most."
Regan echoed this sentiment: “President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities.”
Congressman Dwight Evans added: “Cleaning and re-using brownfield sites is so important. It brings development and jobs to areas that need them."
Examples of successful projects funded by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded Brownfield grants include the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan, Dallas, Texas, and the City of Milwaukee.
The EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has now increased that yearly investment by nearly 400 percent.
These grants will be awarded once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by selected recipients. They will be used to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields.
For more information on the recipients of these grants or to learn more about EPA’s Brownfields Program, visit EPA’s website.
