Contacts
U.S. EPA: Richard Mylott, mylott.richard@epa.gov
Town of San Luis: Susan Sanderford, 719-672-3321; sanderford@townofsanluisco.org
San Luis, Colo. (May 25, 2023) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the Town of San Luis will receive a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to conduct environmental site assessments, develop cleanup plans and support community outreach activities at more than a dozen properties. EPA’s award to the Town of San Luis is among six Brownfields grants totaling nearly $4.78 million announced today for cleanup and revitalization projects in communities across Colorado.
The target area for this grant includes priority sites along San Luis’ Main Street corridor, including a vacant former hardware company, two former gas stations, a former bank building and a vacant auto service garage. Cleanup and reuse of these properties will address pollution and provide new opportunities for job creation.
“The Town of San Luis is taking a strategic approach to cleaning up and revitalizing properties along its Main Street corridor,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker. “EPA is proud to be supporting projects that will protect the health of residents, improve local waters and bring opportunities for new community gardens, trails and businesses."
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping clean up and revitalize communities across Colorado, said U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. “With this funding, Buena Vista, Pueblo, Telluride, Silverton, San Luis and Trinidad can make sure these sites are safe for the families living near them and restore them in ways that meet the communities’ needs.”
These funds are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in while advancing environmental justice through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this funding is the largest ever awarded by the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.
“The EPA Brownfields grant award is important for San Luis—Colorado's oldest town, established in 1851,” said San Luis Mayor Tiffany Gallegos. “This opportunity will help us preserve our historic waterways, land and adobe buildings, supporting our unique culture for generations to come.”
San Luis's Brownfields projects focus on cleanup and redevelopment that will protect the local aquifer and acequias, enable creation of community gardens and trails and renovate buildings for new businesses. One of the primary goals is to identify and prevent any surface or subsurface contaminants from entering the community’s irrigation ditch to protect residents and livestock that depend upon the quality of the water supply.
Priority sites include the San Luis Hardware Company (205 Main Street); San Luis Custom Cycles (217 Main Street); the Main Street Garage; the Lobatos Block on Main Street; Speedway Service and Garage (203 Main Street); and GT Trash Services (368 Main Street). These and other target sites include buildings that have fallen into disrepair, with many locations adjacent to the People’s Ditch, currently littered with abandoned vehicles and junk. Contaminants of concern include mold, asbestos, lead, historic fire extinguisher "bombs" containing carbon tetrachloride, oil and petroleum compounds and pollutants in debris piles.
Other Brownfields grants announced in Colorado today include:
Background
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever begin to address the economic, social and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
EPA’s Brownfields Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to direct 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 84% of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA’s investments in addressing brownfield sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.