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Increase in Brownfields Funding Underscores President’s Commitment to Revitalization
Release Date: 02/04/2005
Contact Information:
Contact: Cynthia Bergman 202-564-9828 / [email protected]
(St. Louis, MO – 02/04/05) President Bush is requesting $210 million for the national Brownfields Program, an increase of $46.9 million. Jim Gulliford, administrator for EPA Region 7, announced the 2006 budget request for the national Brownfields Program today at an event in St. Louis.
The Brownfields Program is a top environmental priority for the administration. In 2001, the president was able to secure bipartisan legislation that accelerated the renewal of brownfield sites. In the past four years, more than 20,000 jobs have been created in conjunction with the brownfields grant program representing a doubling of jobs from the previous seven years. Investments leveraged over the past four years ($3.6 billion) represent more than a 100 percent increase over the previous seven years ($2.7 billion). Cleanups in the past four years also represent more than a 100 percent increase over the previous seven years.
EPA is working with its state, tribal and local partners to meet its objective to sustain, clean up and restore contaminated properties and abandoned sites. Together with the extension of the brownfields tax credit, EPA expects to achieve the following in FY 2006: assess 1,000 brownfields properties; clean up 60 properties using brownfields funding; leverage an additional $1 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding; create 5,000 jobs; and train 200 participants, placing 65 percent in jobs related to the brownfields efforts.
Rodney Crim, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corp., hosted today’s event in St. Louis and discussed the value of brownfields redevelopment for the community.
“This St. Louis project is another great example of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment,” said Gulliford. “It’s also an illustration of the great partnerships we are creating across this nation to clean blighted areas and make them a central part of our revitalization effort.”
St. Louis illustrates the importance of brownfields funding. The city has dozens of brownfields properties in its inventory and is focusing on the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of these properties.
For more information on the St. Louis projects and the Brownfields Program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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