Springfield approved for $500K EPA grant

The city of Springfield was approved for a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, representing the largest award in the state during this grant round.

Springfield is among 33 entities nationwide selected for $10.7 million of grants through the EPA’s Brownfields Program, according to a news release.

In the grant cycle, the EPA also selected Kansas City for a $300,000 grant and approved $113,000 for the Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority, a quasi-governmental financing agency administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Classified as supplemental revolving loan funds, the grant will allow the city to make low-interest loans to entities for cleanup projects at select properties in the area. When the loans are repaid, the funding is returned and reloaned to other borrowers to create a continuing cycle, according to the EPA.

The latest funding marks Springfield’s 16th brownfields grant since 1999. Uses have included cleanup in Jordan Valley West Meadows and the Renew Jordan Creek project, according to EPA records and Springfield Business Journal archives.