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EPA-funded Brownfields Projects Announced in Newark on One Year Anniversary of Recovery Act

Release Date: 02/17/2010
Contact Information: Beth Totman, (212) 637-3662, [email protected]

(New York, N.Y.) In the year since February 17, 2009, the day President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), projects funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have yielded cleaner air, water and land, and new green jobs across the country. Today, EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck was joined by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and other Newark officials, as well as environmental justice advocates, to mark the one year anniversary of the Recovery Act and highlight the progress that has been made using Recovery Act funds around the city of Newark to assess and clean up contaminated properties called brownfields.

EPA brownfields grants address properties at which expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence of toxins. Newark received $600,000 in ARRA funds to conduct cleanups at three sites; a former gas station on Bergen Street, the NSC Plating and Polishing Company on South 12th Street, and the International Metallurgical Services site on Blanchard Street.

“A year after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it’s clear that the environment, public health and the economy are benefiting from projects like these in Newark,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “Due to Recovery Act funding, contaminated and abandoned lots are being cleaned up in a manner that protects public health and the environment. These properties can then be redeveloped and will generate more tax revenue, thereby providing both environmental and economic benefits to the residents of Newark.”

“As we continue our transformation of Newark, we are making sustainability and ‘green’ policies a central part of our efforts. Thanks to our partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and the stimulus dollars received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we are able to remediate once-blighted brownfields in our City, and restore them to productive use, which will improve the environment and health for all of our residents. Together with our community partners we are continuing to build a stronger, safer, prouder City,” Mayor Booker said.

On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, providing more than $370 million for environmental cleanups and enhancements across New Jersey, including:

• Over $161 million in wastewater improvements
• Over $43 million for drinking water projects
• More than $6 million in clean diesel projects
• Almost $160 million for Superfund cleanups
• Nearly $5 million to address leaking underground storage tanks
• $2.25 million for brownfields assessments and cleanups