EPA announces $500,000 to Salt Lake County to advance cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated Brownfield sites
Award part of $11.6 million in supplemental funding for Brownfield projects nationwide
SALT LAKE CITY – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $500,000 in supplemental funding to Salt Lake County, Utah to clean up and redevelop contaminated brownfield properties.
Salt Lake County is one of 27 communities nationwide that has demonstrated success in using previously awarded Brownfields Revolving Loan Funding (RLF) grants to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites. This investment is an important part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address environmental justice issues in underserved communities.
“This supplemental funding is critical for high-performing grantees like Salt Lake County to maintain momentum in implementing targeted cleanup projects,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Debra H. Thomas. “EPA is pleased to provide continued support to the County to address environmental contamination concerns and revitalize important community properties.”
With this grant, Salt Lake County will grow the Wasatch Brownfields Coalition Revolving Loan Fund to almost $2 million to offer low interest loans to support the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields sites in Salt Lake City and Murray City. Future projects will allow for new housing and commercial developments.
Since 2012, Salt Lake County has used RLF funding to clean up and redevelop properties and revitalize neighborhoods. The first awarded loan facilitated the transformation of a vacant area along the river in Ogden into a business park with walking and biking amenities along the waterfront. In 2016, the Fund awarded a subgrant to help Centro Civico Mexicano, a nonprofit organization, to rebuild a segment of a neglected community center building in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City into affordable elder housing. A second loan turned a vacant parcel into housing and a business park.
“We are excited by the continued partnership with the EPA and by the federal government’s support to make Salt Lake County a healthier place to live,” said Catherine Kanter, Salt Lake County deputy mayor of Regional Operations. These funds will improve people’s lives, improve neighborhoods, and make our County an even better place.”
“The revolving loan fund has played a critical role in helping revitalize underutilized areas within our community,” Deputy Mayor Kanter continued. “Whether it be job centers, community centers, or housing options, the projects funded through our fund so far have improved economic, social, and health well-being in our communities. We look forward to putting this additional funding to work in our community.”
Brownfield RLF grants enable funding for communities to provide loans and sub-grants for cleanup activities at brownfield sites. When loans are repaid, the loan amount is returned into the fund and re-lent to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community.
To date, EPA’s RLF grantees across the country have completed 794 cleanups and attracted approximately 48,000 jobs and $16.2 billion in public and private funding. Today’s supplemental funds will help communities keep the cleanup momentum going so that more cleanups can be completed. Each grantee will receive from $200,000 to $500,000.
Background:
Since 1995, EPA’s Brownfields Program has provided nearly $1.6 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, these brownfields investments have leveraged more than $34.5 billion in cleanup and redevelopment in communities across the country. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged, from both public and private sources, more than 176,800 jobs.
For more information on EPA’s Revolving Loan Fund program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-revolving-loan-fund-rlf-grants
For more information on EPA’s Brownfields program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
###