Recipients include Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Jersey City and Plainfield

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov  

(New York, N.Y. – May 20, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing nearly $2 million to Atlantic City, Jersey City, Asbury Park and Plainfield New Jersey to help those communities clean up abandoned and contaminated sites. The funding was awarded through EPA’s Brownfields Program, which helps communities assess, clean up, redevelop and reuse contaminated properties. Brownfields are properties where moderate contamination threatens environmental quality and public health and can interfere with productive re-use of the sites.

“Cleaning up brownfields protects people’s health and the environment, revitalizes neighborhoods and creates jobs,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “There is untapped opportunity at brownfields sites, and these grants help communities find ways to unlock it. In many cases, these are pieces of land that had been written off, sitting unused, dragging down the surrounding neighborhoods. But with the help of these grants, they can be resources for recreation, jobs, parks and sustainable development.”

The EPA’s Brownfields funding will be awarded to communities in New Jersey as follows:

Atlantic City – $763,000 Total

A $200,000 in community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to inventory and prioritize brownfields, and conduct environmental site assessments. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to assess sites with potential petroleum contamination. Additionally, $363,658 in hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Bungalow Park site at 709 Mediterranean Avenue, and the Delta Basin Homes site at North Maryland, Wabash, and Adriatric Avenues. The Bungalow Park site is vacant, undeveloped land and is contaminated with historic fill. The Delta Basin Homes site was formerly developed with a vehicle inspection station and automobile repair garages, and is contaminated with historic fill. Grant funds at both sites also will be used for community outreach and involvement activities. A few key sites have been identified where housing and the local workforce can be constructed. There are redevelopment plans in place in the inlet, downtown and other areas.

Asbury Park – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare two cleanup plans. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to assess sites with potential petroleum contamination. This project will focus on the area just west of the train station and the core downtown, where the most of the areas brownfields are located.  This project include  the targeted assessment, cleanup, and re-development of properties that will bridge the gap between the “east” and “west” sides, and revitalize the area.

Jersey City Redevelopment Agency – $400,000

A $200,000 hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct seven environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. Grant funds of both types also will be used to support community outreach activities. Most of Jersey City’s brownfields are located within 90 community-designated redevelopment areas.  Jersey City’s redevelopment areas can range in size from a handful of blocks to large swaths of land covering over 100 acres. It is in such redevelopment areas that the EPA Assessment Grant funds will be targeted, as redevelopment areas in Jersey City have the greatest concentration of brownfields.

Plainfield – $400,000

A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct eight environmental site assessments, and prepare one cleanup plan. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities. A $200,000 community-wide petroleum grant will be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination. The focus area for this proposed assessment is the area immediately surrounding one of the closed train stations, the former Grant Avenue train stop, now known as the West End Station.  While no longer serving as a rail station, the New Jersey government is planning a bus rapid transit line between Newark and Plainfield which would terminate at the West End station.

The EPA has announced a total of more than $55 million in new investments this year across the country that will redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and help create jobs while protecting public health.

Since its inception, EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have created approximately 87,000 jobs. The 240 grantees receiving grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup Grants programs include tribes and communities in 45 states across the country.

Information on grant recipients can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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