LENEXA, KAN. – Today in Council Bluffs, Iowa, EPA Region 7’s Land, Chemical and Redevelopment Division Director DeAndré Singletary presented a $500,000 novelty big check to the city of Council Bluffs for their Brownfields grant selection.

Council Bluffs was selected for cleanup of the Former Reliance Battery Site, where the city hosted the day’s ceremony. Singletary was joined by Council Bluffs Mayor Matthew Walsh and Council Bluffs Director of Community Development Courtney Harter.

“This Brownfields grant is a significant boost to the city’s cleanup efforts at the Former Reliance Battery Site,” Singletary said. “We are proud to partner with Council Bluffs, and we share their commitment to enhancing the lives of those who live near this site by cleaning up contamination and engaging with the community.”

“We are honored to be a recipient of this EPA Brownfields cleanup grant,” Walsh said. “This grant will have a transformative impact on the Former Reliance Battery Factory Site and the surrounding community. It will improve the quality of life and attractiveness of the city of Council Bluffs.”

“A former battery plant site in Council Bluffs contaminated with lead and other hazardous materials will now be cleaned up with grant money I helped secure in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law late last year,” said U.S. Representative Cindy Axne (Iowa). “This kind of project to support redevelopment and clean up our environment at the same time is exactly why I was proud to vote for the infrastructure bill, and I am pleased to see this money continue to be used right here in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.”

This grant is part of $254.5 million in Brownfields grants for 265 selected communities. These grants are supported by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a total of $1.5 billion to advance environmental justice, spur economic revitalization, and create jobs by cleaning up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties.

Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Redevelopment made possible through the program includes everything from grocery stores and affordable housing to health centers, museums, greenways, and solar farms.

The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held Aug. 16-19, 2022, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Conference registration is open at www.brownfields2022.org.

For more on Brownfields grants, visit: www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-epa-brownfield-grant-funding.

For more on EPA’s Brownfields program, visit: www.epa.gov/brownfields.