(Lenexa, Kan., May 28, 2015) - E.P.A. has selected the communities of Kansas City, Mo., and Saint Louis to gain a total of $900,000 in grants from the Agency's Brownfields Plan to assist with the environmental assessments of contaminated brownfields properties, a key step in paving the way toward their cleanup, redevelopment and sustainable reuse.
Kansas City and Saint Louis were among the 147 communities announced today by E.P.A. headquarters as recipients of the latest round of the Agency's brownfields assessment grants, a package of 243 awards totaling $54.3 million.
The City of Kansas City, Mo., will gain a $500,000 brownfields assessment grant to use with its coalition partners: Jackson Co. and the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of Kansas City. The $500,000 grant includes $350,000 for up to 7 Phase I and 6 Phase II environmental assessments of hazardous substances at specific properties, and up to 5 area-wide Phase I assessments of hazardous substances covering targeted neighborhoods. A similar $150,000 award for assessments of petroleum contamination will allow 5 Phase I assessments of specific properties, and one area-wide Phase I assessment in a commercial corridor. The Kansas City coalition will also use its funds to inventory an estimated 18,000 vacant properties in Kansas City, Mo., and Jackson County, Mo., and conduct community outreach.
The Saint Louis Development Corporation will gain 2 brownfields assessment grants totaling $400,000. A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will help conduct 6 Phase I and 6 Phase II environmental location assessments, and cleanup planning at 2 sites. Grant funds will also be used to conduct community outreach activities. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will fund similar tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.
Since the inception of 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.
EPA's Brownfields Plan empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.
