In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $500,000 in supplemental funding to assist the City of Atlanta in cleaning up contaminated brownfield properties.

EPA will provide a total of $15.7 million in funding to 33 other existing Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees, helping Atlanta and other communities around the country carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects.

The City of Atlanta’s Brownfields Program started in 1996. Since then, the City has managed several programs and initiatives aimed at identifying, assessing and remediating brownfield sites throughout the city. Invest Atlanta oversees the Brownfield RLF program, and the board has recently approved loans for cleanup in the Southwest Atlanta BeltLine Trail corridor, as well as on properties located along Moores Mill Road NW and Cascade Avenue SW.

A brownfield is a real property whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Examples include former industrial sites, gas stations, dry cleaning establishments, and other industrial uses. Atlantic Station and the Atlanta BeltLine are two examples of successful brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects in the City of Atlanta.