Kansas City to receive Brownfields grant

Kansas City, Mo., has received a $600,000 Brownfields grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fund a bistate project to evaluate properties for hazardous substances. The grant will fund several environmental assessments in a 25.5-square-mile portion of eastern Wyandotte County, Kan., and western Jackson County, Mo. The area includes industrial districts, both downtowns and adjacent neighborhoods.

A portion of the grant will be set aside for community involvement activities — providing direct assistance to projects that feature urban agriculture, high-speed fiber connectivity, and hard infrastructure improvements to help communities re-connect, help businesses grow and create jobs.

The partners in the grant are the city of Kansas City, Mo., the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan. and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). MARC will work with the two cities to convene a stakeholder committee and help planning and outreach efforts. MARC will also connect the partners to other regional initiatives, including transportation, homelessness and workforce development.

The EPA Brownfields Program allows states and communities to work together to prevent, safely clean up and reuse brownfields. Brownfields are properties that may be difficult to develop or reuse because of the presence of hazardous substances or pollutants.