Georgia cities will use funds to revitalize riverfront properties, a former shopping center, a long-vacant elementary school, and other projects
The federal funding is part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfield Assessment Grant program
The program helps transform underutilized properties into community assets
Senator Reverend Warnock: “These federal funds will help our state get back on track by helping assess and eventually transform what are now uninhabitable areas, further strengthening Georgia’s economy”
Senator Ossoff: “Above all this is about our communities’ health. No family in Georgia should live in fear of contaminants in their communities”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) announced $2 million in federal funding for revitalization projects in Georgia. In total, the projects will receive $2,633,080 in Brownfields Grants to assess, clean up, and revitalize local lands.
The Georgia grants are part of $267 million in Brownfields Grants across the nation. Brownfields Grants are a powerful catalyst for local economic growth. Communities have previous used the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) grants to assess, clean up, and attract new development.
“These federal funds will help our state get back on track by helping assess and eventually transform what are now uninhabitable areas, further strengthening Georgia’s economy,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.
“Above all this is about our communities’ health. No family in Georgia should live in fear of contaminants in their communities,” said Senator Ossoff. “That’s why Senator Warnock and I are delivering these historic public health and environmental cleanup efforts across the state.”
- The City of Atlanta will receive a $500,000 assessment grant to conduct seven Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments, develop six cleanup plans, and support community engagement activities. Targeted areas are Chattahoochee Riverfront, Proctor Creek, and Jonesboro Road.
- The Coastal Regional Commission of Georgia will receive a $1.2 million assessment grant for 20 Phase I and 50 Phase II environmental site assessments, reuse assessment, planning, and community engagement activities. Targeted areas are the cities of Darien, Brunswick, and Statesboro.
- The City of Ideal will receive a $433,080 cleanup grant funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant funds will be used to clean up a former elementary school, vacant since 1981, and for community engagement.
- The City of South Fulton will receive a $500,000 assessment grant for six Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments. Targeted areas are the Red Oak and Old National Highway districts.
Senator Warnock has an extensive history of securing federal grants to improve the health of Georgia’s communities, clean up the environment, and help bolster the state’s economy. Last year, Senator Warnock announced $45 million in federal funding for clean energy transportation across Georgia. Senator Warnock also announced $25 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help rural and disadvantaged communities throughout Georgia remove PFAS and other dangerous chemicals from their water systems. Earlier in 2024, Senator Reverend Warnock was joined by then EPA Administrator Michael Regan at Stone Mountain Middle School to announce a $1 billion nationwide federal investment in clean energy school buses, including $60 million for Georgia schools.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, Brownfields investments have leveraged more than $42 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding was able to leverage, from both public and private sources, more than 220,500 jobs.
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