EPA Region 7 to Present City of Chadron, Nebraska, with $500K Check for Brownfields Grant
LENEXA, KAN. (JUNE 28, 2023) – On Thursday, June 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will present a $500,000 ceremonial check to the City of Chadron, Nebraska. The city will host the ceremony at the City Council Chambers.
EPA has selected the City of Chadron for a Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 15 Phase I and seven Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to prepare five cleanup plans and develop a brownfield site inventory.
The target area for this grant is the City of Chadron with a focus on the Historic Downtown Area. Priority sites include the Rail Front District near Main Street; a Railroad Park with previous industrial use; a former oil service station; a former power facility; the Roundhouse, which is currently used to refurbish railcars and equipment for the Nebraska Northwestern Railroad; an old hospital; and several vacant lots owned by the Nebraska Department of Transportation.
These investments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean-energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
“We are proud to partner with the City of Chadron for the first time through our Brownfields Program,” said EPA Region 7 Land, Chemical, and Redevelopment Division Director Jeff Robichaud. “This Assessment Grant is the first step in providing a cleaner and more economically robust downtown for the city.”
“The City of Chadron is looking forward to the opportunities that will be realized with the Brownfields Assessment Grant,” said Chadron City Zoning Official Janet Johnson. “This is very exciting for our community!”
Please RSVP to: Jonathan Klusmeyer, klusmeyer.jonathan@epa.gov, 913-343-2991.
WHO:
- EPA Region 7 Land, Chemical, and Redevelopment Division Director Jeff Robichaud
- Chadron Mayor George Klein
- Chadron City Manager Tom Menke
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy Brownfields Coordinator Taryn Horn
WHAT: Brownfields grant ceremonial check presentation to the City of Chadron, Nebraska
WHEN: Thursday, June 29, at 9 a.m. MDT
WHERE: Chadron City Hall Council Chambers, 234 Main Street, Chadron, Nebraska
Background
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced recently, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged over $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged nearly 260,000 jobs from both public and private sources. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leveraged an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.
The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on Aug. 8-11, 2023, in Detroit. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).
- Learn more about Brownfields Grants
- Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields Program
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