EPA lends a hand to Florida university's cleanup efforts

The US Environmental Protection Agency recently named the University of South Florida among 19 recipients of grants to help in the clean up and reuse of brownfield sites.

The EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide program will provide each recipient with up to $200,000 from its $3.8 million fund.

The grants are meant to help promote community involvement in planning for the reuse of the sites with improvements such as housing, education and health facilities, social services, transportation, recreation and open space, renewed infrastructure, increased commerce and employment opportunities.

“The Area-Wide Planning grant program is an innovation initiated by the Obama Administration to empower communities to transform economically and environmentally distressed areas, including communities impacted by manufacturing plant closures, into vibrant future destinations for business, jobs, housing and recreation,” Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, said.

Stanlislaus said the grants give communities the change to decide their own revitalization plans for areas that were once industrial or commercial sites.