News Release (Region 4): EPA ANNOUNCES $400,000 IN RECOVERY ACT FUNDING FOR CONTAMINATED LAND CLEAN-UP, GREEN JOB CREATION IN TALLADEGA, AL

EPA Announces $400,000 In Recovery Act Funding For Contaminated Land Clean-up, Green Job Creation in Talladega, AL

 

                        Contact Information: Carl Terry, (404) 562-8327, terry.carl@epa.gov

 

(ATLANTA - May 22, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced $400,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for Talladega, AL to help clean up brownfields sites which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants.

 

“Brownfields initiatives demonstrate how environmental protection and economic development work hand-in-hand,” said Beverly Banister EPA Acting Deputy Regional Administrator in Atlanta.  “This funding will help local efforts in transforming underutilized properties into community assets while providing a boost for the economy through the creation of jobs.”

 

The Talladega grant will be used to complete environmental assessment of some 18 sites in the Battle Street area and 29 other sites within the city limits.  Talladega is working with the East Alabama Planning and Development Commission, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management Voluntary Cleanup Program, and its community members to redevelop these sites. Many of the sites are former textile mills, abandoned gasoline stations, and other defunct manufacturing sites. 

 

The grant will help to assess, cleanup and redevelop abandoned, contaminated properties known as brownfields.  Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In addition, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002 expanded the definition of a brownfield to include mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture of illegal drugs.  Grant recipients are selected through a national competition.  The Brownfields Program encourages cleanup and redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 and contaminated waste sites.

 

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov. 

 

Additional information on the EPA Region 4 brownfields recipients and their projects is available at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf

Information on the national EPA Brownfields Program, including brownfields activities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is also available at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/eparecovery/index.htm

 

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