The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to award Cooleemee a $200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances that will go for cleaning and redeveloping contaminated property.
Four other communities in North Carolina also got the brownfield grants that are meant to boost local economies and create jobs while protecting human health.
“EPA is certainly excited about the opportunity for communities in the Southeast Region to realize sustainable environmental results,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator, Gwen Keyes Fleming. “Through EPA’s Brownfields Program we support not just environmental revitalization but economic revitalization..”
The other North Carolina brownfield grant recipients are:
• Greenville ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
• Havelock ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
• Hickory ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances and $200,000 assessment grant for petroleum)
• Wilson ($200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
“Restored Brownfield properties can serve as cornerstones for rebuilding struggling communities. These grants will be the first step in getting pollution out and putting jobs back into neighborhoods across the country,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America. In 2011, EPA’s brownfields program leveraged 6,447 jobs and $2.14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds. Since its inception EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. More than 18,000 properties have been assessed, and over 700 properties have been cleaned up. Brownfields grants also target under-served and low income neighborhoods.
Visit www.epa.gov/brownfields/ for more information.