The City of Austin has just won an $820,000 grant from the EPA. The grant will help fund the cleanup of contaminated properties (with an emphasis on East Austin) through a revolving loan program. These properties are known as brownfields, which is essentially just a fancy word for properties that have been abandoned, left idle, or underutilized, typically because of some sort of environmental contamination. Today there are hundreds of identified brownfields in East Austin, the remnants of former industrial facilities, gas stations, and other commercial properties where chemicals were once used.

Grant funds can be loaned to public or private entities, as well as groups developing or redeveloping property that will provide a public benefit, such as providing local jobs or meeting a community need. Anyone interested in applying for a brownfields cleanup loan can do so online or by calling Christine Whitney at 512-974-6085.

“This revolving loan fund grant means we will now be able to assess properties, clean contamination and remove barriers to community redevelopment,” said Christine, who is the city’s Brownfields Revitalization Office manager, in a press release. “Helping facilitate land recycling is just one way we are responding effectively to the high expectations of our community.”