North Texas communities will receive $3.4 million in brownfields grants to help revitalize former industrial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. The grants were announced by the Environmental Protection Agency today to help support cleanup activities in Arlington, Fort Worth and southeast Dallas County.

“Brownfields grants help convert environmental eyesores into sources of local pride,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “These grants build on EPA’s commitment of working with communities to hand down a healthier, more prosperous future to the next generation.”

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers cities and states to work together to clean up these properties and turn them into community assets. More than $70 million in brownfields grants to communities in 38 states were announced by EPA today.

In addition to the North Texas grants, other state communities receiving brownfields funding include the Ark-Tex Council of Governments ($200,000 for petroleum assessments); City of El Paso ($400,000 for hazardous and petroleum assessments); and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo ($200,000 for hazardous assessments).

The North Central Texas Council of Governments will use its $3,000,000 brownfields revolving loan fund grant to support cleanup activities at sites containing petroleum and hazardous substances. Targeted properties include sites located along transit lines in southeast Fort Worth and southeast Dallas County. Cleaning up these sites is expected to spur commercial and residential redevelopment.

“This is another example of how the Regional Transportation Council’s Transit Oriented Development Implementation Program, in partnership with local governments and transit authorities, enables strategic and sustainable development opportunities throughout the region,” said North Central Texas Council of Governments Director Mike Eastland.

The City of Arlington was awarded two assessment grants totaling $400,000 to inventory brownfields sites with potentially hazardous or petroleum contamination, conduct environmental site assessments, and perform community outreach. Redevelopment of the city’s brownfields sites is part of its overall economic strategy to attract new businesses and generate jobs.

“Arlington appreciates EPA's continued interest in identifying and removing brownfield sites," said Mayor Robert Cluck. "The City recognizes that brownfields redevelopment along with sustainable development is essential to the economic vitality of our city and a vital component of our vision for the future."

Since the beginning of the program in 1995, EPA’s south central region has leveraged $2.3 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, helped create 10,700 jobs and resulted in the assessment of 750 properties.

This year, 202 applicants were selected to receive 294 assessment, revolving loan fund, and cleanup grants nationwide. EPA’s brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America's estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. Nationally, brownfields assistance has leveraged more than $9.6 billion in cleanup and redevelopment, helped create more than 43,029 jobs and resulted in the assessment of more than 10,504 properties and the cleanup of 180 properties.

Additional information on the brownfields recipients is available at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit www.epa.gov/region6.