SCPDC has been awarded $400,000 in Supplemental Funding for the South Louisiana Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to Clean Up and Reuse Brownfield Sites!

EPA Announces Nearly $2 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean Up and Reuse Brownfield Sites in

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Funds are part of $9.3 million awarded nationwide

DALLAS – (June 21, 2019) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $9.3 million in supplemental funding for 24 current successful Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees. These funds include $400,000 each for the South Central (Louisiana) Planning and Development Commission; the New Mexico Environment Department; the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; and the city of Texarkana, Texas; and $373,170 for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The supplemental funds announced today are going to communities that have demonstrated success in using their RLF funds to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites. The funds will be used to continue their progress in reusing vacant and abandoned properties and turning them into community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, social services, and commerce opportunities.

“This Brownfields supplemental funding will provide additional resources to 24 communities with a proven track record of success so they can continue their progress revitalizing their local economy and improving the health and wellbeing of their community,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.  “We are proud to report that a majority of communities receiving these supplemental funds have Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction, which means we are reaching communities most in need.”

“Region 6 is fortunate to have great communities as partners in our Brownfields program. This partnership has resulted in the productive revitalization of many communities, including those in Opportunity Zones,” said Acting Regional Administrator David W. Gray. “Today’s supplemental funding announcement will further support this vital partnership for these communities.”

Recipients of EPA’s Brownfields RLF funding provide low-interest loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields 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 694 cleanups and attracted approximately 42,000 jobs and $8 billion in public and private funding.

A majority of the communities receiving supplemental funds have census tracks designated as federal Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. There are estimated to be more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.

Grants awarded by EPA’s Brownfield Program provide communities across the country with an opportunity to transform contaminated sites into community assets that attract jobs and achieve broader economic development outcomes while taking advantage of existing infrastructure. For example, Brownfields grants have been shown to:

• Increase Local Tax Revenue: A study of 48 brownfields sites found that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional local tax revenue was generated in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of these sites.
• Increase Residential Property Values: Another study found that property values of homes near revitalized brownfields sites increased between 5% and 15% following cleanup.

As of May 2019, under the EPA Brownfields Program, 30,153 properties have been assessed and 86,131 acres of idle land have been made ready for productive use. In addition, communities have been able to use Brownfields grants to attract 150,120 jobs and more than $28 billion of public and private funding. The 2019 National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on December 11-13 in Los Angeles, California. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing formerly utilized commercial and industrial properties. EPA cosponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

For more on Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

2019 National Brownfields Training Conference: https://brownfields2019.org/

Connect with EPA Region 6:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6

About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central

We are applying for FY 2019 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant!

SCPDC is pleased to announce the agency is applying for a FY 2019 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant that would allow it to take inventory of brownfield properties within the region, complete environmental assessment and raise awareness. If awarded, the $300,000 grant may be used to address sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum) and petroleum. In South Central’s region are Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Mary parishes. For more information, please contact our Brownfields Program Director – Lesley Long at 985-851-2900 or lesley@scpdc.org.

SCPDC only grantee in Louisiana to be awarded a Community-wide Assessment Grant for FY 2016!

Administrator McCarthy Announces $55.2 Million to Assess and Clean Up Contaminated Sites, Promote Economic Redevelopment Nationwide

Brownfields grants to transform and uplift communities, leverage jobs

WASHINGTON – At an event at a former brownfield site in Burlington, Vermont, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy announced today the selection of 218 new grant investments totaling $55.2 million to 131 communities across the U.S. Recipients will receive approximately $200,000 – $820,000 in funding toward EPA cooperative agreements. The Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) grants go to communities that are underserved and economically disadvantaged, including neighborhoods where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed.

“These grants will empower communities to transform idle, languishing lands into vibrant hubs for business, jobs, and recreation,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “It’s all about providing that initial funding, and sparking that first conversation to set stalled sites on a path toward smart, safe redevelopment that directly benefits communities.”

Today’s event highlighted progress made in cleaning up and redeveloping a formerly contaminated site in Burlington, the Maiden Lane project. Public and private investment in the site, including by ARC grant recipient Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), led to the development of 28 housing units, including four affordable housing units. The CCRPC invested $38,000 in assessment funding from a previous assessment grant at the site, which leveraged private investment of more than $5 million.

EPA’s Brownfields Program strives to expand the ability of communities to recycle vacant and abandoned properties for new, productive reuses. The investments will provide communities with the funding necessary to assess, clean up and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment. Brownfields ARC grants provide resources early on, which is critical for the success of communities’ abilities to leverage additional partnerships and resources. Partnerships between neighborhoods, local developers and governments are essential for impacted communities to acquire the resources needed to meet their revitalization goals.

Approximately $14 million of the assessment and cleanup funding will go to applicants who are also EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant recipients and Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/Dept. of Transportation (DOT)/EPA partnership communities. Funding will help communities clean up and reuse brownfield sites to create community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, employment, education, social services, transportation options, infrastructure and commerce opportunities. For example, Dubuque, Iowa’s new $200,000 cleanup grant will address contamination at the Blum property, a former scrap yard and recycling facility, and will lead to the development of a pocket park for residents of the distressed Washington Neighborhood within Dubuque. In addition to the benefits gained by creating more community spaces, this funding will also build upon Dubuque’s 2010 DOT TIGER grant and 2015 EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning grant which support the revitalization of the Washington Neighborhood.

Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15 percent. Data also shows that brownfields clean ups can increase overall property values within a one-mile radius. Preliminary analysis of 48 brownfields sites shows that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million the EPA contributed to the cleanup of these brownfields.

This latest funding advances EPA’s broader commitment to making a visible difference in communities by focusing on coordinating federal investments to help environmentally overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities address local priorities. The Brownfields Program invests in communities where there are multiple federal agency partnerships at work. Aligning federal resources allows agencies to better meet communities’ needs and for communities to more effectively reap the benefits of collaborative investments. ARC grantees demonstrate a high level of preparedness to undertake specific projects, as they have firm commitments of leveraged funds to move projects forward. An impressive 70 percent of recipients have secured public and private resources which will directly align and further the efforts of proposed projects.

There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America.  Since the inception of the EPA’s Brownfields Program in 1995, cumulative brownfields program investments have leveraged more than $20 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA brownfields dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 108,924 jobs nationwide. EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.

List of the FY 2016 Applicants Selected for Funding: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-fy16-arc-grants-selected-funding

More on ARC grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

More on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

More on successful Brownfields stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories

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