The U.S. EPA has just announced that is is allocating an additional $16 million in funding for projects to reclaim brownfields, which are former industrial sites with varying degrees of contamination. The funds are targeted to brownfields projects that create new green jobs in nearby communities.
So far, the EPA’s brownfields/green jobs program has provided more than $96 million in revolving loans and grants to dozens of projects, which in turn has leveraged more than $2.5 billion in reclamation and redevelopment investments. The EPA estimates that the program has created almost 6500 new jobs relating to site remediation, construction, and redevelopment.