LENEXA, KAN. (MAY 20, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1.5 million in grant awards from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Kansas, while advancing environmental justice.
These investments through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant programs and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant programs will 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 selected the Flint Hills Regional Council in Kansas to receive $1.5 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through MAC Grant programs.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan will announce the awards in Philadelphia today, alongside Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) at a local brownfield side near Bartram’s Mile.
For over 60 years, the site was used as an oil terminal, filled with storage tanks full of petroleum and other semi-volatile organic compounds. The City of Philadelphia has been working to reclaim brownfield sites along Bartram’s Mile, turning them into a community hub where residents can access trails for hiking and biking, as well as areas for fishing, gardening, farming, and more.
“Far too many communities across America have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites,” said President Joe Biden. “I’ve long believed that people who’ve borne the burden of pollution should be the first to see the benefits of new investment. Under my Administration, we are making that a reality by ensuring the historic resources from my Investing in America agenda reach communities that need it most. I am proud that my Administration is helping Philadelphia clean up and transform this area into an economic engine, while tackling a longstanding environmental injustice and creating good-paying jobs.”
“President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That’s why he secured historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supercharging EPA’s Brownfields program to clean up contaminated properties in overburdened communities and bring them back into productive use.”
“EPA Region 7 is proud to deliver these Brownfields funding resources to our partner organizations across Kansas,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “The Brownfields program is truly a win-win for everyone involved, and we are proud of our partners’ efforts to provide a cleaner and healthier environment for all, while at the same time spurring local economic development.”
“I’m thrilled to welcome new federal investments to Kansas to help clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated sites across our community,” said U.S. Representative Sharice Davids (KS-3). “This initiative will not only protect public health and the environment, but also revitalize our communities and create new economic opportunities.”
“This significant award will empower our ongoing efforts to identify, assess, and facilitate the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield sites across the Flint Hills region,” said Flint Hills Regional Council Brownfield Project Manager Janna Williams.
“We are deeply committed to the environmental and economic well-being of the Flint Hills region,” said Flint Hills Regional Council Board President Trish Giardano. “This grant not only supports our vision for a revitalized and thriving region, but also reinforces the trust and partnership we have cultivated with the EPA and our members.”
“This level of grant funding from the EPA will go a long way in assessing and planning for cleanups of polluted sites in Kansas,” said Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Janet Stanek. “Communities in the Flint Hills will be able to use these funds to ensure a brighter future for their citizens, as well as the many visitors who travel throughout the region for business and leisure activities. This is another great investment for Kansas.”
Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization, and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
EPA’s Brownfields program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Brownfields program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations in all aspects of its work. Approximately 86% of the MAC and RLF Supplemental program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities.
State Funding Breakdown
Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs’ Selections:
The following organization in Kansas has been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the MAC Grant programs:
- Flint Hills Regional Council has been selected to receive $1.5 million to lead a Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 30 Phase I and 27 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to update the brownfield site inventory, prepare nine cleanup plans, and support community engagement activities. The target areas include the Historic Downtown and Grant Avenue Revitalization Area in Junction City; Downtown/6th Avenue Revitalization Area in Emporia; Central Core District Revitalization Area in Manhattan; and West Main Street Revitalization Area in Herington. Priority sites include the former Kaw Theater and a former lumber yard, gas station, and car wash in Junction City; Short Stop and Spic N’ Span Cleaners in Emporia; Fairlane Salvage Site, Cinderella Cleaners, Stickel Cleaners, and Midwest Concrete Material in Manhattan; and a former gas station and auto sales site, a former dry cleaner, and a former auto repair shop in Herington. Non-lead coalition members include the City of Herington, City of Manhattan, and Junction City Main Street Inc.
To see the list of the FY 2024 Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup applicants selected for funding, visit EPA’s FY 2024 Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants page.
Additional Background
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
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 now increased that yearly investment 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.
- View the lists of the FY 2024 MAC applicants selected for funding and the RLF Supplemental funding recipients.
- Learn more about the RLF Technical Assistance grant recipients.
- Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields program.
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