The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will provide more than $6 million in grants to Ohio for the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites. The funding comes from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which aims to expedite environmental justice initiatives and the transformation of polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets.
Six communities in Ohio have been selected to receive a total of $5.5 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant programs. Additionally, an existing high-performing Brownfields revolving loan fund grant program will receive $1 million in supplemental funding to accelerate its ongoing work at sites in Ohio.
President Joe Biden stated that his administration is committed to ensuring that communities who have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites are the first to benefit from new investments. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan echoed this sentiment, emphasizing President Biden's vision of transforming contaminated sites into healthier, revitalized communities.
Debra Shore, EPA Region 5 Administrator, acknowledged the industrial history of the Great Lakes Region and its legacy contamination issues. She expressed optimism about the accelerated brownfield cleanups and community redevelopment efforts made possible by the ongoing investments from the Biden Administration.
Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel highlighted Ohio's leadership role in brownfield redevelopment under Gov. DeWine’s administration. She expressed gratitude for the partnership with US EPA that allows seven more Ohio communities to investigate former industrial sites and set them on a path towards cleanup and revitalization.
Various local leaders also expressed their appreciation for the federal funding which will enable them to address environmental contamination issues within their respective communities and spur economic growth.
The EPA’s Brownfields program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which sets a goal for 40% of certain Federal investments' benefits to flow into disadvantaged communities overburdened by pollution. Approximately 86% of applications selected for funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities.
The historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has enabled the EPA’s Brownfields program to help more communities address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields, stimulating economic opportunity and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
