05.29.14

Durbin Announces $2.36 Million in Grant Funding to Clean and Redevelop Contaminated Illinois Sites

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded eight grants totaling $2,368,520 to Illinois communities to assess, clean, and redevelop “brownfield” contaminated waste sites. Today’s funding is part of $67 million awarded nationwide by the EPA. The grants target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged areas. Since 1995, more than 20,000 properties have been assessed, and more than 850 properties have been cleaned up through this program. In addition to increasing property values and revitalizing communities, investments through the Brownfields program have resulted in approximately 87,000 jobs nationwide.

 

“This federal funding will support efforts to clean up hazardous materials which undermine the health, growth, and beauty of communities across Illinois.”
 

Brownfields are properties upon which expansion, redevelopment, or reuse is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous materials and substances. Brownfield properties include abandoned gas stations, old textile mills, closed smelters, and other abandoned industrial properties.

 

The following communities will receive funding under this announcement:

 

  • Cook County, Illinois: $600,000 in funding for community-wide assessments for hazardous substances and petroleum. This grant will be used inventory and prioritize sites, support community involvement activities, and conduct cleanup planning.

 

  • City of Kankakee, Illinois: $400,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessments for hazardous substances and petroleum. Funding will also be used to develop cleanup plans and support community outreach activities.

 

  • City of Ottawa, Illinois: $200,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessments for hazardous substances. This grant will also will be used to prioritize brownfield sites, prepare two cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities.

 

  • Park District of Forest Park, Illinois: $168,520 in funding to complete previously initiated environmental site assessments of a property that was formerly used for a variety of commercial purposes, including light manufacturing and professional office uses.

 

  • City of Rochelle, Illinois: $400,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessments for hazardous substances and petroleum. This grant will also be used to maintain an inventory of brownfield sites, prioritize sites based on redevelopment potential, prepare two hazardous substances and two petroleum cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities.

 

  • City of Rock Falls, Illinois: $200,000 in funding for environmental site assessment of a site that was formerly used for farm-implement manufacturing and tire storage, and is currently vacant. This grant will also be used to conduct public health monitoring, prepare a cleanup plan, and support community engagement activities.

 

  • City of South Beloit, Illinois: $400,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessments of hazardous substances and petroleum. These funds will also be used to clean up a site where contaminants may include volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals.