Kentucky city among 18 recipients of brownfield reuse planning grants

The city of Middlesboro, Kentucky, is among 18 communities that were awarded about $3.8 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create plans for cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites as part of the Brownfields Area-Wide program, the EPA said in a release.

The communities will each receive up to $200,000 to engage their community and conduct planning activities for brownfield site reuse, EPA said in a news release.

“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.”

Middlesboro will utilize the grants for an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the Trace District, located in the middle of the city’s two most important assets, the Historic Downtown and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, the EPA release said.