ATLANTA - E.P.A. (EPA) Regional Administrator, Heather McTeer Toney, will recognize the City of Wilson, North Carolina and the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments as recipients of a $1,000,000 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grant and a $400,000 Brownfields community-wide assessment grant, respectively, for cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties on Wednesday, June 4, 2014.
The grants, funded by EPA's Brownfields program, will help recipients to conduct assessments and cleanup activities on Brownfields properties. The investments will continue to provide communities with necessary backing to help clean up America's land, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting public health.
Who: E.P.A. Regional Administrator, Heather McTeer Toney, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, North Carolina DENR Assistant Secretary for Environment, Mitch Gillespie, City of Wilson Mayor, Bruce Rose, City of Wilson Director of Planning and Development Services, Rodger Lentz
What: E.P.A. Brownfields Grant Recognition to City of Wilson, NC.
When: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, 112 Goldsboro Street East, Wilson, North Carolina
EPA's Brownfields Plan empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield location is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, E.P.A. provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through 4 competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, backing support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
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:
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