EPA Awards $2.5 Million in Grants to Assess and Clean Up Arizona Communities
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin has announced that four recipients across Arizona have been selected to receive $2.5 million in Brownfields Grants to assess, clean up, and revitalize local lands. These grants put the agency’s commitment to protect human health and the environment into action while ensuring EPA remains a good steward of tax dollars and advances policies to energize the economy.
"By tackling polluted and abandoned properties, these Brownfields grants restore local pride, improve neighborhood health, and ignite economic vitality,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Josh F.W. Cook. “This program transforms liabilities into cherished community assets, building a stronger, more prosperous future for all Arizonans."
"This EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund award is vital to advancing economic opportunity for small and microbusinesses in Arizona’s underserved communities,” said Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity Director Carlos Contreras. “With $1,000,000 in funding, and in partnership with the Arizona Finance Authority and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, we will establish and manage Arizona's first statewide fund that supports job creation, local investment, and long-term community growth."
“The City of Tucson is grateful to the EPA for approving our Brownfields Assessment Grant. A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant,” said City of Tucson General Services Department Interim Director Ross Adelman. “These resources provided to us by the EPA are helping us to support economic growth and to develop affordable housing in places like Thrive in the 05, the Transit-Oriented Development Corridor, and 29th Street Thrive Zone where the City of Tucson is making layered investments and creating transformative change. Thank you, EPA."
"The International Sonoran Desert Alliance is excited about this opportunity to work with the EPA Brownfields Program to unlock latent potential in communities throughout the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region,” said International Sonoran Desert Alliance Executive Director Aaron Cooper. “We are creating brighter, more prosperous futures for our constituent communities through creativity, grit, and leveraged Brownfields resources."
“On behalf of the City of South Tucson, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for awarding our 1.2 square mile city these important Brownfields grant funds. We are honored to receive this investment in our community’s future. This funding represents more than just financial support, it’s a powerful vote of confidence in our vision to revitalize underused and potentially contaminated properties, turning them into vibrant spaces that serve our residents, and to attract new opportunities,” said South Tucson Mayor Roxanne Valenzuela. “With this grant, we will be able to conduct assessments, engage with our neighborhoods, and lay the groundwork for sustainable redevelopment. … This partnership will help us build a cleaner, safer, and more prosperous South Tucson for generations to come.”
Arizona Funding Breakdown
- Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity | Revolving Loan Fund | $1,000,000
- International Sonoran Desert Alliance | Assessment | $500,000
- South Tucson | Assessment | $500,000
- Tucson | Assessment | $500,000
Federal grant recipients must satisfy legal and administrative requirements to receive funds from EPA. The Brownfield Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants being announced nationwide include:
- $121.8 million for 148 selectees for Assessment Grants, which will provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach.
- $88.6 million for 51 selectees for Cleanup Grants, which will provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the recipient.
- $15 million for 15 selectees for Revolving Loan Fund grants that will provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites.
Brownfields Supplemental Revolving Loan Fund Grants being announced across the U.S. include:
- $42 million for 34 high-performing recipients to help communities continue their work to carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects on contaminated brownfield properties. Supplemental funding for Revolving Loan Fund Grants is available to recipients that have depleted their funds and have viable cleanup projects ready for work.
View the nationwide list of selected applicants.
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.
Learn more about EPA Brownfields Grants and the Brownfields Program.
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