Three Wisconsin communities will receive a total of $2.1 million in brownfields awards. The grants come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ARC Grants Programs – Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup. Green Bay and Washington County both stand to receive $800,000; Brillion will receive $500,000.

The grants will provide those communities with needed assistance as they work to transform contaminated sites into community assets that attract jobs and achieve broader economic development outcomes.

Nationwide, the EPA has awarded more than $65.6 million in brownfields funding this year through the ARC Grant Programs.

These funds will also aid under-served and economically disadvantaged communities, including neighborhoods located in Opportunity Zones, and in assessing and cleaning up abandoned industrial and commercial properties. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

The Department of Natural Resources is assisting these communities with their brownfields cleanup and redevelopment efforts, while also providing assistance to hundreds of other communities using a variety of local, state, federal and private funding.