U.S. EPA Announces Brownfield Grants for Genesee County and Mott Community College in Flint

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EPA Press Release:

For Immediate Release No. 12-OPA038

U.S. EPA Announces Brownfield Grants for Genesee County and Mott Community College in Flint

Flint, Michigan (August 22, 2013) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced two new brownfield grants totaling $545,000 at an event today at Chevy in the Hole, a site in Flint, Michigan. EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee and Mayor Dayne Walling were joined by representatives of Genesee County which received a $350,000 grant to replenish a brownfield revolving loan fund and Mott Community College which received a $195,050 grant to establish a new job training program.

"The grants that EPA is announcing today will be used to clean up contaminated sites in Genesee County and to train 60 people to work in environmental fields," Hedman said. "These grants will fund work that is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for Flint."

Several local companies have agreed to provide graduates of the Mott Community Colleges environmental training program with internships, on-the-job training and employment opportunities.

“Flint will greatly benefit from these two new federal brownfield grants, which will help to retrain workers and retool industrial properties like Chevy in the Hole to productive use,” Congressman Dan Kildee said. “Investing over a half million dollars in local job training programs and environmental cleanup efforts will help to strengthen our local economy and reposition mid-Michigan to compete for new investments and good-paying jobs,” said Congressman Dan Kildee, Michigan 5^th Congressional District.

“The environmental cleanup and redevelopment at Chevy in the Hole is the result of years of determined effort. This project shows the success possible when community initiative is combined with the creative use of federal resources,” said Flint Mayor Dayne Walling.

"Mott Community College is excited to be a recipient of the EPA Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. This investment will allow us to leverage other EPA investments in our community designed to revitalize key areas in the city of Flint while providing employment and career pathway opportunities for local residents,” said Robert Matthews, Executive Dean of Workforce and Career Development at Mott Community College.

Since 2004, EPA has provided $3.4 million for brownfield assessments and cleanups in Flint and Genesee County. EPA, the city, the county and Kettering University continue to work together to redevelop the Chevy in the Hole site.

For more information on the Chevy in the Hole Cleanup Site:

http://www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/chevyinthehole/index.html.

For more information on EPA’s brownfields program:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/.

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