Springfield selected for $1M in EPA funding

The city of Springfield has been selected for $1 million in funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up contaminated brownfield sites.

The funding from the Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund is part of more than $300 million awarded by the Biden administration this week, according to a news release. Grants also are being made through the EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup initiative.

“The city of Springfield has a long-standing and important partnership with EPA through our brownfields program,” Springfield Economic Vitality Director Amanda Ohlensehlen said in the release. “This partnership has played a pivotal role in the revitalization of many environmentally challenged sites within Springfield.

“This substantive, supplemental Revolving Loan Funding will allow the city to continue to provide EPA-funded loans and subgrants to our community and ensure contaminated sites that threaten the health and well-being of our citizens continue to be remediated and put back into useful service."

Last year, the EPA awarded a $500,000 Brownfields Job Training Grant to the city of Springfield, according to past reporting.