The EPA says that President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda will make the biggest investment ever in brownfields communities.

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda will give more than $315 million to speed up the evaluation and cleanup of brownfield sites across the country and improve environmental justice.

Through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs, the EPA chose 262 towns to receive a total of 267 grants worth more than $215 million. This is the most money ever given by the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.

This is because of the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The organization is also giving 45 million dolor in non-competitive extra funding to 22-successful existing Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant-programs.

This will help them speed up their work at sites all over the country by giving them more money for more cleanups. The EPA is also giving out $55 million to five Brownfields Technical Assistance Providers and three Brownfields Research Grant winners to improve technical assistance.

These investments, totaling $315 million, are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, which aims to grow the American economy from the bottom up and the middle out. This includes rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, attracting over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, creating a manufacturing and innovation boom fueled by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, and building a clean-energy economy that benefits everyone.

“We’re working all over the country to turn places that were once risky, polluted, and in overcrowded areas into places that are more sustainable, fair to the environment, and good for the community. Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Michael S. Regan said, “Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in the United States, we are moving sudden and faster than ever before to clean-up contaminated sites, spur economic re-development, and bring relief that so-many communities have been waiting for. “This important wave of investments is the biggest in the history of Brownfields. It will speed up our work to protect people and the planet by turning what used to be a problem into a strength.”

Together with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI), EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan made the announcement in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the EPA has chosen the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) to get $5.5 million as part of the MARC Grant program for assessing and cleaning up brownfields.

Administrator Regan and Senator Baldwin went to one of the places that will be cleaned up because of the money that was spent today. This site will be cleaned up along with other EPA investments in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor, which is a key place that has been affected by pollution for a long time.

In order to improve our nation’s infrastructure, create well-paying employment, and leave the future generation with a safer, better, and more stable environment, I voted in favor of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. This funding, according to Senator Tammy Baldwin, “will assist communities throughout Wisconsin in dealing with pollution that has existed there for a very long time and prevents these sites from being converted into affordable housing, new businesses, or green spaces.”

When we get rid of the pollution from the past, we can attract businesses that will invest in and develop the area. This will boost tax revenue for cities like Milwaukee, create jobs, and rejuvenate our neighborhoods. Rep. Gwen Moore: “Brownfields are being transformed into places of growth and promise by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” I am happy to support these Milwaukee initiatives because they will make my constituents’ lives better and their communities healthier.

Many towns that are struggling economically, especially those in places that have been neglected for a long time, don’t have the money to start brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are turned into community assets, they bring in jobs, help the economy get back on its feet, and make towns more sustainable and fair to the environment.

With the help of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and its historic $1.5 billion boost, the EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before start to deal with the economic, social, and environmental problems caused by brownfields. It is also helping historically overburdened communities find new economic opportunities and improve their environment.

The EPA’s Brownfields Program also helps President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to give 40% of the benefits of certain Federal funding to low-income areas. The Brownfields Program works hard to keep this promise and make sure that environmental justice and fairness are taken into account in all of its work. About 84% of the MARC and RLF Supplemental program applications that were chosen to get money planned to work in areas that have previously been underserved.

Breakdown of funding:

MARC Grant Program for Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup:

The EPA said that 262 communities will get 267 grants totaling more than $215 million through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.

These grants were given out after a formal competition. This is the largest sum of money ever awarded under the Brownfields Program.

You can find out more about the MARC picks for this year by reading.

Extra money that doesn’t have to be won through the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Program.

The Agency is giving $45 million in extra, non-competitive funding to 22 Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant projects that have already been successful at cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield sites.

RLF grants give money to recipients so that they can offer loans and subgrants to clean up brownfield areas. With the money that was released today, communities will be able to continue to deal with the economic, social, and environmental problems that come from brownfield sites.

Find out more about who won the RLF this year.

Technical Help Providers for Brownfields and Research Grants

The EPA is also reporting that two Brownfields technical assistance funding opportunities have been chosen. Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) recipients provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand issues connected to brownfields and guide them through the brownfield assessment, cleanup, and revitalization process.

This help is a big part of what the Biden-Harris Administration is doing to help underserved communities get better economic chances and deal with issues of environmental justice. This technical help is free for communities and is offered to everyone who needs it. The $1.5 billion from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is used to pay for the two funding opportunities that were revealed today. They are:

1. Under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program, the EPA chose five Technical Assistance Providers to receive a total of $53 million in grants to train and help towns across the country. This investment will pay for professional help from organizations that don’t make money off of it in all ten EPA regions. Find out more about the TAB picks for this year.

2. As part of the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program, the EPA is also extending the scope of its technical support to include three additional subject-specific awards totaling $2 million in three locations. These include: providing technical assistance to nonprofits that want to reuse brownfields; providing research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement caused by brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking strategies for brownfields. Find out more about the people who got grants from the Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research joint agreement.

Find out more about Brownfields Research and Technical Assistance.

Some more background:

The EPA has chosen these groups to get money to help them deal with and support the reuse of brownfield areas. Once all legal and administrative requirements are met, the EPA plans to give out all of the awards that were revealed today.

Since 1995, when the EPA’s Brownfields Program started, it has given out nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfield Grants to help evaluate and clean up polluted properties and put abandoned properties back to work. More than $36 billion has been spent on cleaning up and redeveloping brownfield areas because of the EPA’s investments in this area.

Over the years, a small amount of government money has helped create nearly 260,000 jobs from both public and private sources. Communities that have gotten Brownfields Grants in the past used the money to pay for surveys and cleanups of brownfields. They were able to create an average of 10.6 jobs for every $100,000 spent on EPA Brownfield Grants, or $19.78 for every dollar.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will take place in Detroit, Michigan, from August 8 to 11, 2023. This conference, which happens every two years, is where the most people who care about cleaning up and reusing old business and industrial properties get together. The EPA and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) are both putting on this event.

Article first published by EPA Press Office ([email protected]).

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