E.P.A. provides $400K to advance the cleanup and revitalization of targeted properties in Missoula
Brownfields grants part of $54 million to clean up and redevelop sites across the country
Contacts:
U.S. EPA: Danny Heffernan, 303-312-7074; [email protected]
U.S. EPA: Ted Lanzano, 303-312-6596; [email protected]
City of Missoula: Ginny Merriam, 406- 552-6007; [email protected]
(Denver, Colo. June 1, 2015) As part of a tour highlighting several completed, ongoing and planned redevelopment plans in Missoula, Mont., E.P.A. (EPA) regional administrator Shaun McGrath today presented Mayor John Engen with $400K in E.P.A. Brownfields grant funds. The E.P.A. grants will be used to expand local efforts to assess, clean up and redevelop properties throughout Missoula, including Urban Renewal Districts and properties along the Clark Fork River waterfront.
Today's announcement is among 243 E.P.A. grant investments totaling $54.3 million to 147 communities across the U.S. These grants will provide communities with backing necessary to assess, clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.
"EPA Brownfields grants continue to help Missoula transform contaminated and underused properties into economic assets," said E.P.A. regional administrator, Shaun McGrath. "There are few communities in the U.S. that can match the vision, commitment and skill that Missoula has demonstrated in cleaning up and reviving blighted properties. E.P.A. is proud to be investing in new plans that will continue to address contamination and create new opportunities here in the city."
The City of Missoula was originally awarded an E.P.A. Brownfields grant in 1998 to assess environmental conditions at sites in the downtown area. Since that time, the City has used in excess of $3.5 million in E.P.A. Brownfields grants to leverage tremendous redevelopment successes, including the cleanup of the 50-acre Missoula Sawmill site, a 14-acre riverfront park and trail system, and the renewal of several downtown buildings and properties. The City has been particularly effective in working with community and local business interests to use these funds to advance shared redevelopment goals and the vision outlined in the Greater Downtown Master Plan.
The City will use today's E.P.A. Brownfields Assessment funds to identify contamination concerns and cleanup needs at several properties in Urban Renewal Districts along the Clark Fork River. These areas include properties along the Bitterroot Branch rail line, a former unlicensed landfill, former fueling and vehicle repair sites, and many outdated and largely vacant buildings. The redevelopment of these areas will include opportunities for new parks and trails, housing, and businesses.
Mayor Engen points to Missoula's riverfront as an area of accomplishment and promise.
"We have enjoyed a great partnership with EPA," he said, "and it is evident in the heart of Missoula
on the riverfront at the old mill site, where what was a post-industrial wasteland is now one of Missoula's premier parks, and the neighboring land is ripe for a new mixed-use neighborhood. That doesn't happen without this kind of partnership."
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA's Brownfields Plan empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse these sites. Since the inception of the EPA's Brownfields Plan in 1995, cumulative brownfield Plan investments have leveraged in excess of $22 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per E.P.A. brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 105,942 jobs nationwide.
More information on Brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
More Brownfields information:
Plan http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
