City of Marshalltown, Iowa, Selected for $300,000 EPA Brownfields Grant to Address Contaminated Properties

May 27, 2021

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Emily Albano ([email protected])

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Environmental News

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image of Marshalltown BF event big check

(Lenexa, Kan., May 27, 2021) - Today, the city of Marshalltown, Iowa, was selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive $300,000 in EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Program. During the press event at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, DeAndré Singletary, director of EPA Region 7’s Land, Chemical and Redevelopment Division, presented a novelty big check to Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer.

The city plans to use the funding to conduct at least 20 Phase I and six Phase II environmental site assessments and develop a cleanup and reuse plan. Grant funds also will be used to develop an inventory of brownfield sites, prepare a community involvement plan, host five public meetings, and conduct other community engagement activities.

“Through our Brownfields Program, EPA is delivering on the Biden administration’s commitment to lifting up and protecting overburdened communities across America, especially communities that have experienced long periods of disinvestment and decay,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These assessment and cleanup grants will not only support economic growth and job creation, but they will also empower communities to address the environmental, public health, and social issues associated with contaminated land.”

“Communities can achieve important outcomes with Brownfields MAC funding,” said Acting EPA Region 7 Administrator Edward H. Chu. “Marshalltown is taking steps to revitalize the city’s core through environmental site assessments, creation of an inventory of brownfield sites, and community engagement activities. These actions lay the foundation for building resilient and thriving neighborhoods.”

“Marshalltown, Iowa, has shown tremendous strength and resiliency as we have diligently worked to recover from the effects of an EF3 tornado and a derecho in a short, three-year period,” said Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer. “This funding award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow us to build a brownfield site inventory, complete assessments of brownfield sites, and aid in the implementation of our redevelopment plans. As the mayor of Marshalltown, I am excited about where our community is headed and appreciative of the federal partners working alongside us as we continue to work hard on our recovery.”

“UnityPoint Health is excited to be a partner in the Brownfields Program with the city of Marshalltown and is looking forward to participating in the Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment Grant,” said UnityPoint Health Administrator Shari King. “We have been actively working with the city and K-State’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program to prepare for the future reuse of the downtown campus. We would like to congratulate the city and thank the EPA for selecting Marshalltown as a grantee.”

The list of the fiscal year 2021 applicants selected for funding is available online.

EPA anticipates that it will award the grants once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by the selected recipients.

Since its inception in 1995, EPA's Brownfields Program has provided nearly $1.76 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return them to productive reuse. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example:

To date, communities participating in the Brownfields Program have been able to attract over $34.4 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding after receiving Brownfields funds. This has led to over 175,500 jobs in cleanup, construction and redevelopment.

Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged an average of $20.13 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfields 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 15.2% 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 – two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites.

City of Marshalltown, Iowa, Selected for $300,000 EPA Brownfields Grant to Address Contaminated Properties

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