Dallas Plan to Gain E.P.A. Grant for New Brownfield Investment to Boost Local Economy, Leverage Job Creation; 171 communities nationwide Gain backing for cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated sites

DALLAS - (May 28, 2014) The E.P.A. (EPA) announced today that the Plan United Community Development Corporation of Dallas will gain $200,000 to clean up a contaminated location in South Dallas. Nationwide, 171 communities will gain 264 grants totaling $67 million in brownfields backing to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

"Vacant properties can drain the economy and blight neighborhoods," said E.P.A. Regional Administrator Ron Curry. "Cleaning up this location and bringing it back to life will increase the sustainability of South Dallas."

The Plan United grant will go toward clean-up of a location that will house a community center in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood southeast of downtown Dallas. The location contains a 37,000-square foot building originally developed as a phone company service center. The property, vacant since 2008, is contaminated with hazardous materials such as inorganic contaminants.

The FY14 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants will give communities and businesses a chance to return economic stability to under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods through the assessment and clean-up of abandoned industrial and commercial properties, places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.

A total of approximately $23.5 million is going to communities that have been impacted by plant closures. Other selected recipients include tribes and communities in 44 states across the country; and over 50 of the grants are going to HUD-DOT-EPA grant recipient communities.

Since the inception of the EPA's Brownfields plan in 1995, cumulative brownfield plan investments have leveraged in excess of $21 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 93,000 jobs nationwide. These plans demonstrate the positive impact a small investment of federal brownfields backing can have on community revitalization through leveraging jobs, producing clean energy, and providing recreation opportunities for surrounding neighborhoods. EPA's Brownfields Plan empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.

More information on brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/

More information on EPA's brownfields Plan http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

Connect with E.P.A. Region 6:
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On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
Activities in E.P.A. Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm

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