EPA Administrator Announces $2.9 Million to Clean Up Contaminated Sites and Revitalize Michigan Communities (MI)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 11-OPA50
EPA brownfields investments protect
health, environment, create jobs and promote economic
redevelopment
(CHICAGO – June 6, 2011) Today in
Lansing, Michigan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced more than $76 million in
new investments across the country that will help redevelop
contaminated properties, boost local economies and help create jobs
while protecting public health. EPA’s brownfields grants are
used to assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial
properties like deserted gas stations or closed smelters. The City
of Lansing is receiving a $1 million grant that the Lansing
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will manage. Seven Michigan
communities will receive a total of $2.9 million in
funding.
"Revitalizing our communities is vital
to our health and the health of our local economies," EPA
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. "The grants we're awarding to
communities across America will support projects that will help
create thousands of jobs and make our communities cleaner,
healthier and more prosperous places to raise a family and start a
business. They're part of our overall effort to clean up
communities and put our nation on the path to a sustainable
future."
The six other Michigan communities
receiving brownfields grants or funds today are: Albion ($200,000);
Charter Township of Northville ($200,000); City of Inkster
($400,000); Lenawee County ($200,000); Montcalm County ($400,000),
and the Downriver Community Conference in Southgate ($500,000).
Since 1995, 105 Michigan communities have received a total of $88.5
million for redevelopment projects. This has led to the creation of
8,694 new jobs and the leveraging of an additional $975.7 million
worth of redevelopment in the state.
“For a struggling auto community
at the epicenter of the national economic crisis, we depend on the
power of brownfields funding to energize Lansing’s local
economy and create jobs," said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. "With
the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who played a
key role in an extraordinary public-private partnership, we have
transformed an old, abandoned power plant on our downtown
riverfront into a new engine of prosperity and job growth for
Michigan. More than 1,500 people spent 800,000 work-hours to
complete this massive project, and another thousand permanent jobs
will be retained and created in Lansing over the next few years.
With the additional funds announced today, we will be able to
replicate this success and put even more of our citizens back to
work.”
EPA today announced 214 grants through
the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants
programs that will go to 40 states and three tribes across the
country. There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated
waste sites in America. These investments help leverage
redevelopment, promote economic growth and lead to job creation.
Since its inception, EPA’s brownfields investments have
leveraged more than $16.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment
funding from a variety of public and private sources resulting in
approximately 70,000 jobs. Brownfields grants also target
under-served and economically disadvantaged
neighborhoods—places where environmental cleanups and new
jobs are most needed.
In 2002, the law expanded the
definition of brownfields to include mine-scarred lands, sites
contaminated by petroleum, or sites contaminated from the
manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs (e.g. meth
labs).
More information on the FY2011 grant
recipients by State:
https://www.epa.gov/brownfieldspilot_grants.htm
More information on EPA’s
brownfields program:
https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
More information on brownfields success
stories:
https://www.epa.gov/brownfieldssuccess/index.htm
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