Biden Administration Announces $254 Million to Tackle Polluted Brownfield Sites
A total of 4 communities in Alabama will receive Brownfield Assessment and Cleanup or High Performing Revolving Loan Fund support to help build back America’s economy while addressing environmental justice concerns
ATLANTA (May 18, 2022) — Today, The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a $254.5 million investment made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to revitalize communities across the country by cleaning up contaminated and blighted sites and redeveloping them for productive uses.
Today, the Biden Administration through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $254.5 million in Brownfields Grants to 265 communities. Today’s grants are supported by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a total of $1.5 billion to advance environmental justice, spur economic revitalization, and create jobs by cleaning up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties.
Brownfield projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination, to assessing and cleaning up abandoned properties that once managed dangerous chemicals. Once cleaned up, former brownfield properties can be redeveloped into productive uses such as grocery stores, affordable housing, health centers, museums, parks, and solar farms.
The Brownfields Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 86 percent of the communities selected to receive funding as part of today's announcement have proposed projects in historically underserved areas.
“With today’s announcement, we’re turning blight into might for communities across America,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “EPA’s Brownfields Program breathes new life into communities by helping to turn contaminated and potentially dangerous sites into productive economic contributors. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are significantly ramping up our investments in communities, with the bulk of our funding going to places that have been overburdened and underserved for far too long.”
“Brownfields investments provide critical funding to empower communities to address and reverse the effects of economic stress, particularly in areas that have experienced disinvestment and decay,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman. "This funding will help communities in need transform contaminated sites into community assets, create jobs, jumpstart economic development and protect citizen’s health and the environment.”
“This is phenomenal news and a testament to the transformational impact that President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is having on the State of Alabama, “said U.S. Representative Terri Sewell. “Far too many communities across our state continue to struggle with the disastrous impact of pollution and hazardous substances left behind by industrial complexes. These funds will reverse decades of disinvestment and help our cities fight to regain their environmental health by cleaning up our soil and groundwater. I applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for making environmental justice a top priority and for ensuring that no community is left behind.”
“ADEM and the state of Alabama are appreciative of the investment EPA continues to make in our communities through these brownfield grants. These communities are looking to bring new economic activities to former industrial sites and to create jobs and opportunities for the people. The grants will help pay for environmental assessments, community outreach and cleanup plans needed to transform these dormant brownfield sites into productive uses,” said Alabama Department of Environmental Management Director Lance LeFleur. “It also should be noted that two of the grants, for Marion and Uniontown, are going to areas in the Black Belt, where economic development and the employment it generates are needed the most.”
EPA’s Brownfields grants and other technical assistance programs like the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative are also helping to build the clean energy economy. Today’s announcement includes a former coal mine in Greene County, Pennsylvania, that will become a 10-megawatt solar farm, and a former dump site in the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana that will be converted to a solar farm, saving local residents an estimated $2.8 million in energy costs over 25 years, among many others.
Today’s announcement includes approximately $180 million from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help turn brownfield sites across the nation into hubs of economic growth and job creation, along with more than $75 million from FY22 appropriations.
The recipients in Alabama are listed below:
- Greater Birmingham Regional Commission
- City of Greenville
- City of Marion
- City of Uniontown
The complete list of the applicants selected for funding is available here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2022-brownfields-assessment-rlf-cleanup-arc-grants-and-rlf
Since its inception in 1995, EPA’s investments in brownfield sites have leveraged more than $35 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example:
- To date, this funding has led to more than 183,000 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment and more than 9,500 properties have been made ready for reuse.
- Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on average $20.43 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.
- In addition, an academic peer-reviewed study has found that residential properties near brownfield sites increased in value by 5% to 15% as a result of cleanup activities.
- Finally, analyzing data near 48 brownfields, EPA found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue for local governments in a single year after cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites.
Additional Background
A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Redevelopment made possible through the program includes everything from grocery stores and affordable housing to health centers, museums, greenways, and solar farms.
The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 16-19, 2022 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Conference registration is open at www.brownfields2022.org.
For more on Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding
For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields