EPA Announces More Than $12.4 Million in Brownfields Grants to Cleanup Wisconsin Communities
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of $12,469,745 in Brownfields grants to 10 organizations in Wisconsin that will assess, cleanup, and revitalize local lands. Nationally, EPA announced the selection of $267 million in Brownfields grants to communities across the United States.
“The $267 million in Brownfield grants will transform contaminated properties into valuable spaces for businesses and housing, creating new opportunities that strengthen local economies and directly benefit American families,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “EPA’s Brownfields program demonstrates how environmental stewardship and economic prosperity complement each other. Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA is Powering the Great American Comeback, ensuring our nation has the cleanest air, land, and water while supporting sustainable growth and fiscal responsibility.”
“Brownfields grants empower communities to reclaim and revitalize areas that have previously been underutilized,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Anne Vogel. “These grants put the agency’s commitment to protect human health and the environment into action while remaining good stewards of tax dollars and advancing policies to energize the economy.”
This round of selectees from Wisconsin receiving cleanup and assessment grants include:
- The City of Brillion has been selected for a $1,983,145 Brownfields cleanup grant to clean up part of the Brillion Iron Works Redevelopment, located at 300 Park Avenue. The site functioned as a machine shop and iron forge from 1900 to 2016. Most of the buildings were demolished between 2019 and 2022. The site is currently vacant and contaminated with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds.
- The City of Kenosha has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields assessment grant to inventory Brownfield sites and conduct eight Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop eight cleanup plans and five reuse plans, and support community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is central Kenosha.
- The City of Manitowoc has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields assessment grant to conduct seven Phase I and six Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to update the brownfield site inventory, prepare four cleanup plans and conduct community engagement activities. The target areas for this grant include a property on River Point Drive, a former tannery and a former dye house.
- The Oneida Nation has been selected for a $2 million Brownfields community-wide assessment grant to conduct environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to support reuse planning and community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the Oneida Reservation in northeast Wisconsin.
- The City of Racine has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields assessment grant to conduct 18 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds will also be used to create a brownfield site inventory, prepare five cleanup plans and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is Racine’s Lincoln-King Neighborhood.
- The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee has been selected for a $500,000 Brownfields cleanup grant to clean up a contaminated site at 2900 W. Center Street, Milwaukee. The site contains a 50,000-square-foot multi-story warehouse that was historically occupied by a creamery, a laundry business, a printing company, an adhesives company and residential properties. The adhesives company utilized the site to manufacture hot melt adhesives until 2003. It is currently partially occupied by a non-profit. It is contaminated with volatile organic compounds.
- The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee has been selected for $650,000 to supplement its existing Brownfield revolving loan fund grant which has successfully made loans or subgrants for past cleanup projects. The Authority has funded several cleanups with previously awarded grants. The grant funding will be used for the Compass Lofts, the Tempo Hotel and the Historic Patterson Place.
- The Village of Waunakee has been selected for a $836,600 Brownfields cleanup grant to clean up the former Waun-a-Clean Dry Cleaners, located at 205 S. Klein Drive. The site was home to two dry cleaning businesses between 1992 and 2013 and has been vacant since then. It is contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds.
- The City of West Allis has been selected for $2 million to supplement its existing Brownfield revolving loan fund grant which has successfully made loans or subgrants for past cleanup projects. West Allis has funded several cleanups in with previously awarded grants, including the site of the Aurora Medical Clinic. The grant funding will be used for the CCM-Aloysius property, the former Motor Castings property and the Longfellow School Redevelopment Area.
- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been selected for $3 million to supplement its existing Brownfield revolving loan fund grant which has successfully made loans or subgrants for past cleanup projects. WDNR has funded cleanups across the state with previously awarded grants. The grant funding will be used for projects in Oak Creek and Stevens Point, including the Oak Creek Bluff sites and the Stevens Point redevelopment area.
Federal grant recipients must satisfy legal and administrative requirements to receive funds from EPA.
View the list of selected applicants here.
Background
EPA’s Brownfields program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in Brownfield grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, brownfields investments leveraged more than $42 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding was able to leverage, from both public and private sources, more than 220,500 jobs.
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