THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President

VICE PRESIDENT GORE AWARDS BROWNFIELDS FUNDING,
EXPANDING EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE CONTAMINATED PROPERTIES

Washington, D.C. - Vice President Al Gore today awarded 54 grants, totaling $7.95 million, to help communities across the country redevelop brownfields - abandoned, lightly contaminated properties often found in economically distressed areas - and restore them to full economic viability and community use.

"The continuing success of the Administration's brownfields revitalization efforts clearly demonstrates that environmental protection and economic development go hand-in-hand," said Gore. "Thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment of local and state officials, and with the help of the Administration, hundreds of communities are experiencing new growth and new opportunities."

Communities that have received initial pilot grants will be awarded supplemental funding to build on their success in revitalizing brownfields. These investments are awarded competitively, based upon a community's strong record of commitment to the cleanup of brownfields.

In the past seven years, the Clinton-Gore Administration has awarded over 300 EPA Brownfields Grants to states, cities, towns, and tribes throughout the nation totaling $69 million. Together these grants have helped to create over 5,000 jobs and leveraged $25 of private and public investment for every $1 of grant money.

Today's announcement is another step in the Clinton-Gore Administration's continued efforts to protect the environment and public health, while promoting and maintaining economic viability. The brownfields redevelopment initiatives empower communities, providing them with the start-up funds to assess and inventory properties within their jurisdiction that may have contamination, in order to leverage funding for redeveloping those properties.

The Clinton-Gore Administration has taken significant strides towards the successful cleanup of brownfields and the return of these sites to productive use, including the creation of a national model to serve as a guide for communities in the process of creating revitalization plans, providing a tax incentive to businesses that purchase and participate in the cleanup of brownfields, and providing loans for a variety of types of brownfields revitalization efforts to communities across the country.

The states, counties, communities, and tribes selected to receive supplemental brownfields grants are listed below:

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