EPA announces $300M to revitalize polluted sites

by Rachel Frazin - 05/20/24 5:33 PM ET

FILE - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Building is shown in Washington, Sept. 21, 2017. The former head of a federal agency that investigates chemical accidents improperly spent more than $90,000 during her tenure, including unauthorized trips to and from her California home, remodeling her Washington office and outside media training for herself, according to a new report by a federal watchdog. The report by the EPA’s inspector general says Katherine Lemos, the former chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, was not entitled to travel expenses for at least 18 round trips to the capital from her home in San Diego from April 2020 through March 2022. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) — AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Building is shown in Washington, Sept. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday announced it would dole out $300 million to revitalize contaminated sites.

That money is part of a larger $1.5 billion tranche that was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The funds will go to 178 communities for new cleanup grants and an additional 31 communities to supplement existing projects. The polluted sites in question are known as Brownfield sites.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the funds during a trip to Philadelphia at the site of a former oil terminal that later became a community area for hiking and biking.

“Far too many communities across America have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites,” President Biden said in a written statement in an EPA press release.

“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,” he added.

Tags Joe Biden Michael Regan