19 communities awarded $3.8 million for brownfield cleanup

Several U.S. communities have been awarded grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency worth a total of $3.8 million to put toward the cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites under the Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (AWP) program, the EPA said in a release.

Each of the 19 communities will get up to $200,000 to come up with improvements in transportation, housing, recreation, education, open space, health facilities, social services, renewed infrastructure, employment and increased commerce, the EPA said.

“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 for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, said in the release.

“These grants provide the opportunity for communities to determine for themselves revitalization plans that best meet their vision and needs based on a rigorous analysis of market and infrastructure in a manner that benefits and does not displace long-term residents,” Stanislaus said.