EPA Region 7 to Present City of Maryville, Missouri, with $211K Check for Brownfields Grant

LENEXA, KAN. (JUNE 23, 2023) – On Monday, June 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will present a $211,000 ceremonial check to the City of Maryville, Missouri. The city will host the ceremony at the Maryville Public Safety Building.

EPA has selected the City of Maryville for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant funds will be used to clean up Aunt B’s North Property at 602 South Main Street. The cleanup site operated as a gas station from 1951 until it was closed in 2005. The site is currently vacant and contaminated with petroleum. In addition, two underground storage tanks are still on the property. Grant funds also will be used to conduct two public meetings and perform other community outreach activities.

These investments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean-energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.

“This Brownfields grant is a significant step toward cleaning up contamination at a vacant former gas station,” said EPA Region 7 Land, Chemical, and Redevelopment Division Director Jeff Robichaud. “We are proud to partner with the City of Maryville, and we share their commitment to enhancing the lives of those who live near this site by cleaning up contamination and engaging with the community.”

“The City of Maryville is deeply appreciative of the funding from EPA to clean up the former gas station property at 602 South Main,” said Maryville Mayor Tye Parsons. As the city continues to revitalize the entire South Main corridor, the availability of this property is not only important for the environmental health of our community, but also for the economic development opportunity presented by a non-contaminated site.”

Please RSVP to: Jonathan Klusmeyer, Klusmeyer.jonathan@epa.gov, 913-343-2991.

WHO:

· EPA Region 7 Land, Chemical, and Redevelopment Division Director Jeff Robichaud

· Maryville City Councilmember Benjamin Lipiec

· Maryville City Administrator Greg McDanel

· Missouri Department of Natural Resources Project Manager Christine O’Keefe

WHAT: Brownfields grant ceremonial check presentation to the City of Maryville, Missouri

WHEN: Monday, June 26, at 5 p.m. CDT

WHERE: Maryville Public Safety Building, 101 N. Vine St., Maryville, Missouri

Background

EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced recently, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged over $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged nearly 260,000 jobs from both public and private sources. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leveraged an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on Aug. 8-11, 2023, in Detroit. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).