The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that the City of Emporia has been awarded $500,000 to evaluate properties that may be contaminated.
The funding will support work at brownfield sites, which are former industrial or commercial properties that may contain contaminants or other environmental risks.
What Brownfield Grants Are Used For
Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup grants help communities identify, study and clean up sites that may pose environmental concerns.
The goal is to make these properties safer and prepare them for future redevelopment, allowing communities to reuse land that may otherwise remain vacant or underused.
Downtown Emporia Sites Targeted
According to the EPA, Emporia’s $500,000 grant will be used for several activities in the city’s downtown corridor.
The work will include property inventories, environmental assessments, cleanup planning and community outreach.
Priority sites include a former dry cleaner and two former service stations.
Additional Kansas Brownfields Funding
Emporia was not the only Kansas community selected for brownfields funding.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, received $3.7 million to support loans for brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects.
EPA Region 7 Praises Kansas Selectees
EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy congratulated the Kansas brownfields grant recipients.
Macy said the grants can help transform communities by creating opportunities for reuse, revitalization and economic growth. He added that the EPA is proud to provide these resources to Region 7.
The EPA’s $500,000 award to Emporia will help the city assess and plan cleanup efforts for potentially contaminated brownfield sites in its downtown corridor. By identifying environmental risks and preparing properties for reuse, the funding could support future redevelopment and local economic growth.