Phoenix Receives $1.4 Million To Clean Up Brownfield Sites

PHOENIX, AZ — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southwest Region has awarded $1.4 million across two grants to the City of Phoenix to help boost the local economy and clean up brownfield sites for the Rio Reimagined Project.

The first grant, totaling $600,000 comes through the Brownfields Communitywide Assessment Coalition Grant. The cities of Phoenix, Avondale and Tempe, along with Arizona State University, will use the funds to study the Salt River (Rio Salado), Agua Fria and Gila rivers for potential brownfield areas, the City of Phoenix said in a release Wednesday.

The second grant the city received totals $800,000 and comes from the Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund. The money will be used to finance the cleanup up brownfield properties through local grassroots groups, developers and government agencies, the city said.

The second fund will be managed by the Support Corporation Phoenix, which has expertise in developing and managing loan and grant money.

“Phoenix’s Brownfields Program is poised to continue to boost our economy with these $1.4 million grants from EPA,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement. “The two grants allow us to address environmentally-challenged properties for the Rio Reimagined Project and provide low-interest rate loans for developers, businesses and nonprofits for cleanup of sites citywide.”

The City of Phoenix said the Phoenix Brownfields Land Recycling Programs has cleaned and put to use 310 acres of previously contaminated land, created 3,300 jobs and brought $312 million in private investment to the city.