Warner, Kaine announce more than $2 million in federal funding for environmental protection projects in Virginia

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award a total of $2,012,800 in federal funding to communities across Virginia. The grants will be used to support environmental site assessments, supervision programs, and community outreach activities with the goal of revitalizing unusable contaminated sites for productive use.

“This funding will support Virginia’s clean drinking water efforts and also support the rehabilitation and reuse of contaminated industrial sites,” said Warner. “The environmental work funded by this program will help develop secure and sustainable communities that are better equipped for economic innovation in the future.”

“The EPA Brownfields Program shows that environmental cleanup and economic development go hand-in-hand in building safe, prosperous communities. This funding will support revitalization of contaminated sites throughout Virginia, which will improve air and water quality for these communities and clear the way for exciting new uses of these sites,” Kaine said.

Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water will receive $322,800 to support the Public Water Supervision Program. The program will use funds to ensure the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act in the Commonwealth of Virginia are effectively enforced.

The Town of Bedford will receive $300,000 in Brownfields grant funding for hazardous substance and petroleum assessments, cleanup plans, and community outreach activities.
The Town of Pulaski will receive $300,000 in Brownfields grant funding for hazardous substance and petroleum assessments, cleanup plans, and community outreach activities. Assessment activities will focus on the Third Street Corridor.

The City of Roanoke will receive $200,000 in Brownfields grant funding for hazardous substance assessments, cleanup plans, and community outreach activities. Assessment activities will focus on the Roanoke Rail Corridor and the brownfield corridor between the industrial Norwich neighborhood and the City of Salem.

The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County will receive $590,000 in Brownfields grant funding for hazardous substance and petroleum assessments, cleanup plans, and community outreach activities. Assessment activities will focus on the Towns of Halifax and South Boston.

The City of Norfolk will receive $300,000 in Brownfields grant funding for hazardous substance assessments, cleanup plans, and community outreach activities. Assessments will focus on 218 acres in four key neighborhoods in the downtown and coastal areas along the Elizabeth River: East Downtown/Harbor Park, Tidewater Gardens/St. Paul’s Quadrant, Fort Norfolk and surrounding Ghent Neighborhood area, and the South Elizabeth River Waterfront.