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SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced more than $9.8 million from President Biden’s investment agenda in the U.S. to expedite the evaluation and cleanup of brownfield sites in Arizona while promoting environmental justice.
EPA has selected eight entities in Arizona to receive more than $9.8 million in total competitive EPA brownfield funding through the Multipurpose, Evaluation, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) grant program. bottom. Thanks to a historic boost from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, this is the largest funding ever awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC grant program.
These investments, from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure to driving more than $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, will support Biden’s efforts to grow the U.S. economy bottom-up and middle-out. It is part of the President’s investment agenda for the United States. From creating a manufacturing and innovation boom with four years of high-paying no-degree jobs, to fighting climate change and building a clean energy economy that makes our communities more resilient.
“We are working across the country to rehabilitate once unsafe and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investment in America, we are moving faster than ever to clean up contaminated sites, accelerate economic redevelopment, and provide much-needed relief to many communities. “We are moving forward,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Reagan. “This crisis wave of investment is the largest in brownfield history and will transform what was once devastation into strength, accelerating our efforts to protect people and the planet. prize.”
“Arizona brownfield grants are critical in EPA’s efforts to restore land and surrounding communities by removing harmful pollution and reclaiming land for beneficial uses,” said EPA Pacific Southwest. Regional Director Martha Guzman said. “The Brownfield Foundation enables and empowers communities to create their own healthier, safer and more equitable futures.”
“From the Navajo to Bisbee, our bipartisan infrastructure legislation continues to provide impactful infrastructure and economic development funding to communities in every corner of the state. “By cleaning up our abandoned real estate, we will drive investment, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for Arizonas,” said Senator Mark Kelly.
“This federal funding will clean up a hotspot that has been disproportionately harming marginalized communities for too long. I am proud to have supported the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that made this funding possible, and I am proud to support Southern Arizona and We will continue to advocate for the fight to ensure that disadvantaged communities across the country have access to resources to remediate and prevent environmental destruction,” said Rep. Raul. Grijalva.
“These brownfield grants continue to provide the necessary resources to enable easy access to critical funds to address degraded and underutilized land in tribal states and rural areas. “These areas often struggle with the ability of workers to obtain and administer such subsidies,” said Karen Peters, Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
“The City of Tolleson is thrilled to have been selected as a recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Assessment Grant. We will be able to discover and create opportunities for redevelopment that will benefit the local community,” said Tolleson City Chief Government Officer Pilar Sinaoui.
The City of Bisbee is committed to good stewardship of community assets and looks forward to leveraging this grant to address critical needs. Affordable housing is not only part of the city’s strategic plan, but also an effort to ensure that the people who live and work here can afford to live here,” said senior planner and project director for the City of Bisbee. said Melissa Hartman of
“Cochise County is thrilled by the EPA’s continued support and partnership in investing in much-needed RLF grants for economic development and redevelopment of brownfield properties,” said Cochise County County Administrator Richard Karwatzka. Stated.
“This would be a great opportunity to start reclaiming a historic site that has remained largely vacant and unused since the early 2000s. improved access to innovative social, judicial and forensic services for underprivileged communities, and integrated and creative opportunities for economic and sustainable development in the heart of downtown Flagstaff; It’s about being born.” Coconino County Facilities Management.
“These grants will have tangible benefits to historically underserved Navajo communities. We will focus on assessment and remediation of the dispersal sites,” said Pam Maples, Navajo Environmental Conservation Service Restoration Project Manager.
“SEAGO, through EPA’s 2023 Community Awards, will address the historical challenges and current impacts of brownfields on identified locations in Graham, Greenlee, and Santa Cruz counties. We are grateful for the opportunity to “apply for the Broad Assessment Grant,” said Randy Heiss, SEAGO Executive Director.
“Home of the White Mountains Apache, the White Mountains are one of the most visited areas in Arizona due to their natural beauty and recreational opportunities. Protecting Apache lands, ecosystems and natural resources and conservation are critical to future economic development,” said Brenda Pusher-Bigey, Director of the White Mountain Apache Environmental Conservation Service.
Many communities under economic stress, especially those in areas that have experienced long periods of divestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. Transforming brownfield sites into community assets attracts jobs, stimulates the economy, and transforms communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.
Thanks to historic $1.5 billion in grants from President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the EPA’s Brownfield Program is helping more communities than ever to benefit from the economic, social and environmental impacts of brownfields. We begin to address challenges and help foster economic opportunity and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities. .
The EPA’s Brownfield Program also advances President Biden’s Justice 40 initiative, which directs 40 percent of the overall returns from certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfield Program strives to deliver on this promise and promote consideration of environmental justice and equity in all aspects of its activities. Of those who applied for the MARC program, approximately 84 percent of those selected for funding suggested working in areas that include historically underserved communities.
State funding breakdown:
Brownfield Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection
The following organizations in Arizona have been selected to receive EPA brownfield funding through the Multipurpose, Evaluation, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) grant program.
- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, $2 Million Assessment Grant: This community-wide assessment grant will allow the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to expand existing brownfield programs to help economically distressed communities throughout Arizona. funds can be used to bring investment and revitalization to those communities. Evaluating brownfield sites will prepare those lands for cleanup and redevelopment, paving the way for affordable housing and other community services.
- City of Bisbee, $468,000 Cleanup Grant: This grant to the City of Bisbee provides for the hazardous cleaning of a 100-year-old historic property for redevelopment into affordable housing. The project will bring much-needed housing opportunities to this rural former mining community located just eight miles from the Mexican border.
- Cochise County, $1,000,000 Revolving Loan Fund Grant: This grant supports the county’s economic development efforts by investing in essential real estate for rural communities. The fund assists in cleanup of brownfield sites, redevelopment and preservation of historic properties, promotion of tourism, and construction of affordable housing to encourage private investment.
- Coconino County, $573,615 Cleanup Grant: This cleanup grant will allow Coconino County to remove lead, asbestos, and mold from a former prison in the heart of historic downtown Flagstaff. Coconino County plans to redevelop the facility as a community recovery hub to house innovative social justice programs aimed at reducing recidivism and promoting successful community reintegration.
- Navajo, $2M Assessment Grant and $2M Cleanup Grant: EPA will provide community-wide assessment grants to the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency to address priority areas and support economic development across the Navajo. We are awarding gold and cleanup grants. These grants will fund the ongoing evaluation and cleanup of the Navajo Forest Products Industrial Site, a contaminated 100+ acre former particleboard mill that continues to affect the Red Lake Chapter and the town of Navajo, New Mexico. Offers.
- Southeast Arizona Government Organization Evaluation Grant: $500,000: Grant provided to a Southeast Arizona government organization to help communities better understand the past use of brownfield sites, assess existing contamination levels, You can make a cleanup plan. Efforts supported by this grant will improve access to healthcare, increase affordable housing opportunities, and promote economic development while reducing exposure to environmental pollutants for site cleanup and redevelopment. help attract public and private investment in
- City of Tolleson, $500,000 Assessment Grant: Through this grant, the City of Tolleson seeks to reclaim areas of its core city that have been eroded by industrial activity. The funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments to support the city’s master plans to provide community services, educational facilities, retail, food and beverage, commercial services, and improved safety and connectivity between communities and local resources. will be
White Mountain Apache Tribe, $800,000 Multi-Purpose Grant: Through this grant, the White Mountain Apache Tribe will provide community engagement, site evaluation, and cleanup at tribal properties along the Chief Avenue Activation Corridor. , implement a reuse plan. Sites are prioritized for redevelopment for educational facilities, space for health, recreation, and social use, economic development, and improved tribal government services.
