DALLAS, TEXAS (June 27, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined the North American Development Bank (NADBank) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) to celebrate a completed water infrastructure project and Brownfields funding for the village of Vinton in El Paso County, Texas. The village is receiving a $2 million EPA Brownfields cleanup grant financed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.
“Water infrastructure and contamination cleanups often come with expenses too large for some communities to bear. Federal funding can make all the difference to help local governments provide these investments for their residents,” said EPA Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “Through legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that more funding for infrastructure, cleanups, and other important projects get to the communities that need them the most.”
“Just a month ago, most of us were here in El Paso County to break ground for the construction of basic, but vital services for another community and today, we’ve come together again to witness the outcome of yet another collaboration among NADBank, EPA, USDA and TWDB, which is making these projects possible for small communities like Vinton,” stated NADBank Deputy Managing Director John Beckham. He added that “NADBank will continue to build these relationships in benefit of the people and environment of the U.S.-Mexico border region.”
The village celebrated the completion of its wastewater distribution system, which will bring piping, fire hydrants and service meters to 368 households for the first time. Speakers at the event also announced the final phase of a wastewater collection system will start construction in July and connect 506 homes to wastewater collection services for the first time. Both projects were funded through an EPA grant to NADBank of $4.9 million, and additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program and Texas Water Development Board.
The village of Vinton’s Brownfields cleanup grant, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be used to clean up the Vinton Community Park site. The site was used to dispose to waste such as shredded automobile components; metal pieces; and gravel, concrete pipe, and other construction debris. As a result, the site is contaminated with hazardous substances with commingled petroleum in some areas. The site has been vacant since the Village purchased it in 1992. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.
These Brownfields grants 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.
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.
The EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of its work. Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.
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