Hoosier Communities Awarded $4M in Brownfield Grants
(Image courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded more than $4 million in funding to address brownfield sites multiple Indiana communities. The agency says the grants will aid underserved and economically-challenged challenged communities in assessing and cleaning up abandoned industrial and commercial properties.
Each of the 10 areas in Indiana received a minimum of $300,000 in funding. The recipients include:
- Fort Wayne – $455,625
- Indianapolis – $600,000
- Kokomo – $300,000
- Lawrence – $300,000
- Lawrenceburg – $300,000
- Lebanon – $300,000
- Michiana Area Council of Governments (Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko, & St. Joseph counties) – $600,000
- Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (Gary, Hammond, & East Chicago) – $600,000
- Sullivan – $300,000
"The City of Sullivan is very excited and very grateful to our friends at the EPA for their choice to invest in our hometown. There have been numerous private investments over the past few years in our community,” said Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb. “This partnership with the EPA will provide a very important economic tool to investigate cleaning up areas of opportunity for future investment."
The city of Sullivan says it will use its funding to investigate potential environmental contamination at up to 10 properties, including vacant filling stations and a dry cleaner. The funding will also be used for promoting economic redevelopment, according to the city.