(Atlanta - May 24, 2012) - The E.P.A. (EPA) announced today that it projects to award 3 communities in South Carolina with brownfield grants for new investments to provide backing necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting human health.
"EPA is certainly excited about the opportunity for communities in the Southeast Region to realize sustainable environmental results," said E.P.A. Region four Administrator, Gwen Keyes Fleming. "Through EPA's Brownfields Plan we support not just environmental revitalization but economic revitalization. Each of these communities will gain backing to lay the groundwork for future investments in their community vitality and resiliency."
The South Carolina brownfield grant recipients are:
? Allendale Co. ($200,00 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
? City of Greenwood ($200,00 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $100,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
? Union City ($200,00 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
"Restored Brownfield properties can serve as cornerstones for rebuilding struggling communities. These grants will be the 1st step in getting pollution out and putting jobs back into neighborhoods across the country," said E.P.A. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Clean, healthy communities are places where people want to live, work and start businesses. We're providing targeted resources to help local partners transform blighted, contaminated areas into centers of economic growth."
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America. In 2011, EPA's brownfields Plan leveraged 6,447 jobs and $2.14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds. Since its inception EPA's brownfields investments have leveraged in excess of $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment backing from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. In excess of 18,000 properties have been assessed, and over 700 properties have been cleaned up. Brownfields grants also target under-served and low income neighborhoods - places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.
More information on the FY 2012 grant recipients: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
More information on EPA's brownfields program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields success stories: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
