News Releases from Region 04
EPA Gives $200,000 to the City of Middlesborough, Kentucky to Help Plan New Uses for Former Brownfield Site
Brownfields Area-Wide Planning funds support community revitalization
ATLANTA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the City of Middlesborough, Kentucky along with 18 other communities for approximately $3.8 million in funding to assist with planning for cleanup and reuse of Brownfield sites as part of the Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (AWP) program. Each recipient will receive up to $200,000 to engage their community and conduct planning activities for brownfield site reuse.
The grants will help the city in conjunction with the community and other stakeholders to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the Trace District, which is located in the middle of the city’s two most significant assets, the Historic Downtown and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The district is a community that is in need of investment to protect minority, low-income, and sensitive populations, and includes almost 70 potential brownfields. Redevelopment strategies will focus on the former Park View Motel and four other catalyst sites. The area-wide planning project will assist in bridging a gap in investment and connecting the city’s most vibrant resources.
“The Area-Wide Planning grant program is an innovation initiated by the Obama Administration to empower communities to transform economically and environmentally distressed areas, including communities impacted by manufacturing plant closures, into vibrant future destinations for business, jobs, housing and recreation,” said Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. “These grants provide the opportunity for communities to determine for themselves revitalization plans that best meet their vision and needs based on a rigorous analysis of market and infrastructure in a manner that benefits and does not displace long-term residents.”
Assistant Administrator Stanislaus announced the new AWP recipients for funding at a community event in Norfolk, Va.
EPA’S AWP program was modeled after New York State’s Brownfields Opportunity Area (BOA) Program, which was developed by communities – particularly lower income communities – to enable them to drive development that meets their needs without displacing them. 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 involving 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.
More information on the funding recipients: /brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding
/brownfields/national-brownfields-area-wide-planning-grant-selected-proposal-descriptions
To apply for Brownfields Grants: /brownfields/apply-brownfields-grant-funding
More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/
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