April 21, 2010

Durbin Announces $2.65 Million in Grant Funding to Clean and Redevelop Contaminated Illinois Sites

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded 8 grants totaling $2,650,000 to Illinois communities to assess, clean, and redevelop “brownfield” contaminated waste sites.  Today’s funding is part of $78.9 million awarded nationwide by the EPA. The grants target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged areas. Since 1995, the EPA has awarded more than 2,500 grants totaling nearly $800 million through the brownfields program.

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:
 
Chicago Metro Area
 
  • Franklin Park: $200,000 in funding for the Downtown Franklin Avenue Redevelopment Site – Phase 2 cleanup.
  • North Chicago: $400,000 in funding to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for community-wide cleaning assessment and planning.
 
Northern Illinois
 
  • Lena: $200,000 in funding for the 1873 Lena Depot Restoration Projects site cleanup.
  • Rockford: $400,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessment and planning.
  • Rockford: $350,000 in funding for South Main Rail Yards site cleaning assessment and planning.
 
Central Illinois
 
  • Rock Island: $500,000 in funding to create a revolving loan fund that provides grants for cleaning activities.
  • Vermilion County: $400,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessment and planning.
 
Southern Illinois
 
  • Vandalia: $200,000 in funding for community-wide cleaning assessment and planning.