Today at a brownfield site in Schuyler, Nebraska, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister presented a $500,000 ceremonial check to Schuyler Community Development as an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant selectee.
EPA selected the organization to receive the grant through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grants program. MAC Grant funds help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets, while helping to create good jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities.
“EPA Region 7 is proud to deliver these Brownfields funding resources to the Schuyler community. Our rural communities face unique challenges in addressing brownfields, and many lack the resources to tackle the redevelopment of brownfields on their own,” McCollister said. “With this grant, Schuyler Community Development can take another step toward turning blight into might.”
This is the first time Schuyler Community Development has been selected for funding through the EPA Brownfields MAC Grants program. The target area for this grant is the Downtown Historic District of Schuyler. Priority sites include a former hotel, municipal power plant, and grain elevator.
“With the help of the City of Schuyler and stakeholders, including the Schuyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Center for Rural Affairs, CHI Health-Schuyler, and local business in Schuyler’s Downtown Historic District, SCD greatly appreciates the opportunity to utilize EPA Brownfields funding to help assess and revitalize our historic downtown and other areas of town that have lacked sufficient resources in the past,” said Schuyler Community Development Economic Development Coordinator Brian Bywater. “Revitalization and redevelopment of the Downtown Historic District and the broader community through a strategic Brownfield Program will bring investment, jobs, beautification and, most importantly, a greater opportunity for Schuyler’s residents.”
Grant funds will be used to conduct multiple Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments. This funding will also be used to identify and prioritize additional sites; develop four cleanup plans; conduct three visioning sessions; prepare three site reuse assessments and one revitalization plan; and perform community engagement activities.
Background
EPA’s Brownfields program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this program made approximately $60 million available each year. Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America through this law, EPA has increased that yearly investment by nearly 400%.
More than half of the funding available for this grant cycle (approximately $160 million) comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment has also allowed the MAC Grants’ maximum award amounts to increase significantly from $500,000 to a new maximum of $5 million per award.
To see the list of the fiscal year 2024 MAC applicants selected for funding, visit EPA’s webpage.
Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields program.