City of Craig, Colorado to receive $300,000 to advance property cleanup and redevelopment
EPA Brownfields grant will fund environmental assessments at downtown properties
Craig, Colo. -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that the City of Craig, Colorado will receive a $300,000 Brownfields assessment grant to advance the cleanup and revitalization of properties at priority sites in the City’s downtown area.
The City of Craig is among 151 communities nationwide selected to receive 154 grant awards totaling $66.5 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the agency’s Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant programs. This funding will support underserved and economically disadvantaged communities across the country in assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Approximately 50 percent of selected recipients will be receiving EPA Brownfields Grant funding for the first time and more than 85 percent are located in or serving small communities.
“The City of Craig has identified several key sites where redevelopment will provide great benefits to the community,” said Mark A. Smith, EPA Region 8 director of the Land, Chemicals, and Redevelopment Division. “The EPA grant will help identify any existing contamination, facilitate cleanup, and create new economic opportunity in the downtown area.”
“The City of Craig is very pleased to have received an award of $300,000 from EPA’s Brownfield Community Wide Assessment grant program,” said City of Craig Mayor Jarrod Ogden. “The grant will help us to leverage many of our unique attributes and assets in order to support positive and healthy growth. This grant also supports the passion we have to assist those who call Craig home as we look to repurpose building stock in order to create an environment that is ripe for innovation.”
“We acknowledge EPA’s intention for the grant to support economic development and environmental cleanup by addressing known sources of contamination and using this effort as a catalyst for reuse and redevelopment of properties in key areas of the community,” continued Mayor Ogden. “We are very thankful for EPA’s consideration of this award and look forward to the results of the project.”
The City will use the EPA Brownfields funds to inventory and prioritize sites and conduct environmental site assessments at up to 14 properties. Grant funds will also be used for cleanup and reuse planning and community outreach activities.
Assessment activities will target priority sites in downtown Craig at the intersection of Victory Way and Yampa Avenue, including the Craig Depot and Rail district; former oil services, auto repair, and dry cleaner sites; the former K-Mart and Craig Memorial Hospital; and 538 Yampa Avenue, a vacant commercial building.
Contaminants of concern at these sites include petroleum, hydrocarbons, , and volatile organic compounds. The City intends to reuse these properties and develop critical transportation, utilities and water infrastructure in downtown Craig extending west along Victory Way. By investing in pedestrian infrastructure, the City also aims to increase walkability in the downtown area, reduce transportation costs, and attract a skilled workforce to new business opportunities.
The list of the fiscal year 2021 applicants selected for funding is available here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2021-brownfields-multipurpose-assessment-and-cleanup-grants
EPA anticipates that it will award the grants once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by the selected recipients.
Background
Since its inception in 1995, EPA's Brownfields Program has provided nearly $1.76 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return them to productive reuse. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example,
- To date, communities participating in the Brownfields Program have been able to attract more than $34.4 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding after receiving Brownfields funds. This has led to over 175,500 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment.
- Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on average $20.13 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.
- In addition, an academic peer-reviewed study has found that residential properties near brownfield sites increased in value by 5% to 15.2% as a result of cleanup activities.
- Finally, analyzing data near 48 brownfields, EPA found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue for local governments in a single year after cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites.
For more on the Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-epa-brownfield-grant-funding
For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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