E.P.A. provides $500K to City of Trinidad (Colo.) to advance the cleanup and revitalization of properties

Funds part of $54 million to clean up and redevelop Brownfields sites across the country

(Denver, Colo. - May 28, 2015) The E.P.A. (EPA) has awarded the City of Trinidad, Colorado $500K in Brownfields grant backing to expand local efforts to assess, clean up and redevelop properties as part of a Brownfields Coalition that includes the Town of Aguilar and Las Animas County, Colorado. 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.

The City of Trinidad, the Town of Aguilar and Las Animas Co. will use the E.P.A. Brownfields funds to inventory, assess and clean up mine-scarred lands and abandoned rail corridors in targeted areas throughout communities in Las Animas County. The City and its partners will focus these activities on abandoned mines, waste rock, dumps, tailings, and waste piles, which can contain heavy metals and other hazardous pollutants, and pose a risk to residents and nearby waterways. The City of Trinidad will serve as the lead Coalition partner and will work closely with the Co. and smaller communities to prioritize plans that eliminate environmental risks and offer potential redevelopment opportunities.

"EPA Brownfields grants open doors by helping communities transform blighted properties into public and economic assets," said E.P.A. regional administrator, Shaun McGrath. "These types of investments will address contamination and create new opportunities for people to live, play, and do business."

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 brownfields sites. Since the inception of the 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

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