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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President


For Immediate Release April 12, 2000
            VICE PRESIDENT GORE AWARDS BROWNFIELDS FUNDING,
        EXPANDING EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE CONTAMINATED PROPERTIES

Washington, D.C. -- Vice President Al Gore today awarded 54 grants, totaling $7.95 million, to help communities across the country redevelop brownfields -- abandoned, lightly contaminated properties often found in economically distressed areas -- and restore them to full economic viability and community use.

"The continuing success of the Administration's brownfields revitalization efforts clearly demonstrates that environmental protection and economic development go hand-in-hand," said Gore. "Thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment of local and state officials, and with the help of the Administration, hundreds of communities are experiencing new growth and new opportunities."

Communities that have received initial pilot grants will be awarded supplemental funding to build on their success in revitalizing brownfields. These investments are awarded competitively, based upon a community's strong record of commitment to the cleanup of brownfields

In the past seven years, the Clinton-Gore Administration has awarded over 300 EPA Brownfields Grants to states, cities, towns, and tribes throughout the nation totaling $69 million. Together these grants have helped to create over 5,000 jobs and leveraged $25 of private and public investment for every $1 of grant money.

Today's announcement is another step in the Clinton-Gore Administration's continued efforts to protect the environment and public health, while promoting and maintaining economic viability. The brownfields redevelopment initiatives empower communities, providing them with the start-up funds to assess and inventory properties within their jurisdiction that may have contamination, in order to leverage funding for redeveloping those properties.

The Clinton-Gore Administration has taken significant strides towards the successful cleanup of brownfields and the return of these sites to productive use, including the creation of a national model to serve as a guide for communities in the process of creating revitalization plans, providing a tax incentive to businesses that purchase and participate in the cleanup of brownfields, and providing loans for a variety of types of brownfields revitalization efforts to communities across the country. The states, counties, communities, and tribes selected to receive supplemental brownfields grants are listed below:

Birmingham, AL $150,000
Bucks County, PA $150,000
Buffalo, NY $150,000
Cape Charles / Northampton
County, VA $100,000
Charlotte, NC $100,000
Chicago, IL $150,000
Cincinnati, OH $150,000
Clearwater, FL $50,000
Colrain, MA $40,000
Coralville, IA $100,000
Des Moines, IA $150,000
Detroit, MI $65,000
Downriver Community
Conference, MI $150,000
East Palo Alto, CA $100,000
Emeryville, CA $150,000
Englewood, CO $150,000
Escambia County, FL $100,000
Everett, WA $100,000
Glen Cove, NY $100,000
Greenfield, MA $120,000
Hartford, CT $150,000
Hudson County, NJ $150,000
Indianapolis, IN $150,000
Kalamazoo, MI $150,000
Kansas City, MO/KS $150,000
Las Vegas, NV $100,000
Lewiston, ME $75,000
Long Beach, CA $150,000
Lowell, MA $150,000
Lynn, MA $150,000
Miami, FL $135,000
Miami-Dade County, FL $65,000
Milwaukee, WI $150,000
Montachusett Regional Planning
Commission, MA $150,000
Mystic Valley Development Corporation (Cities of Malden, Medford, and Everett),MA $150,000 Naugatuck Valley Regional
Planning Agency, CT $150,000
New Hampshire Dept. of
Environmental Services $150,000
Niagara Falls, NY $150,000
Oregon Economic and Community
Dev. Dept. $150,000
Portland, OR $150,000
Saginaw, MI $150,000 Salt
Lake City, UT $150,000
Seattle/King County, WA $150,000
Shenandoah, VA $100,000
Shreveport, LA $150,000
South Florida Regional
Planning Council $100,000
Springfield, MA $150,000
St. Louis, MO $100,000
St. Louis County, MO $100,000
Trenton, NJ $150,000
Tulsa, OK $150,000
Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa, ND $150,000
Wayne County, MI $150,000
Ypsilanti, MI $150,000

The states, counties, communities and tribes selected to receive additional funds for the assessment of contaminated sites to protect, preserve, and create greenspace include:

Clearwater, FL $50,000
Downriver Community
Conference, MI $50,000
Emeryville, CA $50,000
Glen Cove, NY $50,000
Hudson County, NJ $50,000
Kalamazoo, MI $50,000
Kansas City, MO / KS $50,000
Las Vegas, NV $50,000
Long Beach, CA $50,000
Lowell, MA $50,000
Miami, FL $50,000
Oregon Economic and
Community Dev. Dept. $50,000
Saginaw, MI $50,000
Salt Lake City, UT $50,000
Seattle / King County, WA $50,000
Shenandoah, VA $50,000
Shreveport, LA $50,000
Springfield, MA $50,000
Trenton, NJ $50,000

Sound from the Vice President is available on the White House Press Office

Radio Actuality Line at 202-456-5671.

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