EPA awards over $1M to clean up, revitalize communities

Moscow has been selected by the EPA to participate in the brownfields grants program along with communities in 40 states and four tribes.

In the Pacific Northwest, brownfields grants totaling more than $1 million will be given to King County, Washington State, the Swinomish Indian Tribe and Moscow.

Neighborhoods will gain health, environmental and economic benefits from these programs, said Susan Morales, Brownfield Grants Program coordinator.

The City of Moscow was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant totaling $475,000.

The funds will focus on five sites along an abandoned railroad corridor with previous light and heavy agricultural operations, including hazardous chemical storage, lumber and grain mills, and petroleum distribution facilities.

The area includes the Legacy Crossing Urban Renewal District, where most of the property is blighted and underutilized. Assessment of brownfields is expected to help the city meet the goals of its economic plan, which focuses on redevelopment of the railroad corridor and improvements to the downtown business district.

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

For additional information about the Brownfields Grants; visit EPA HQ’s national news release: http://go.usa.gov/iXc