Three contaminated Rockford sites to get $200,000 each in grants for cleanup

Online Staff Report

CHICAGO — The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced May 29 it has awarded three $200,000 grants to assist with the cleanup of three contaminated sites in Rockford.

The three sites are the Depot site, the Lorden/Eclipse site and the former Tapco site. Each site will get $200,000 in grants for cleanup purposes.

The grants are part of $3.1 million in “brownfield grants” awarded by the USEPA. Brownfield grants are to be used to assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial properties.

EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman explained: “EPA’s brownfield grants will spur redevelopment in Illinois. These grants will help prepare contaminated properties for productive uses.”

Other Illinois brownfield grants distributed included the following:

• Antioch, site assessment, hazardous substances, $200,000;

• Midlothian, site assessment, $400,000;

• Ottawa, site assessment, $400,000;

• Stephenson County, cleanup, former mortuary site, $200,000;

• Illinois EPA, revolving loan fund, $800,000; and

• South Suburban Mayors and Managers’ Association, revolving loan fund, $500,000.

The Illinois grants are part of the EPA’s $69.3 million 2012 nationwide brownfields grants to clean up and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies, create jobs and protect public health.

See a list of all awarded brownfields grants by state at http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/.

More about EPA’s brownfields program can be found at www.epa.gov/brownfields/.

More about brownfields success stories can be found at www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm.

Posted May 31, 2012