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City of Sheridan (Wyo.) receives $400K to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites in North Main Street area

Release Date: 06/11/2014
Contact Information: Danny Heffernan, U.S. EPA, 303-312-7074; Richard Mylott, U.S. EPA, 303-312-6654; Robert Briggs, City of Sheridan, 307-675-4225

Abandoned stockyards and sawmill among sites targeted for assessment and cleanup

(Denver, Colo. – May 28, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the City of Sheridan will receive a $400K EPA Brownfields grant to assess, clean up and redevelop properties in the North Main Street area.

The City of Sheridan will use the EPA Brownfields funds to assess hazardous waste and petroleum contamination at more than a dozen properties in a downtown corridor containing several abandoned or underutilized properties where known and potential contamination is hindering economic redevelopment. These properties include a former stockyards, an abandoned sawmill, railroad and fuel storage facilities, and warehouses. Potential contaminants include heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, petroleum compounds, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The City will also prepare an inventory of brownfields, develop cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities.

The City will use the EPA grant to develop plans to integrate property cleanup activities with the community’s vision for revitalizing the North Main Street Corridor. These plans include creating new housing and business opportunities in the area as well as parks and open space.

The City of Sheridan is among 171 communities nationwide receiving 264 grants totaling $67 million in brownfields funding to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment. The 2014 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants will give communities and businesses a chance to return economic stability to under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods through the assessment and clean-up of abandoned industrial and commercial properties, places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed.

“EPA Brownfields funds continue to help Wyoming communities get blighted and contaminated sites back into productive use," said Shaun McGrath, EPA’s regional administrator in Denver. “These projects will create new community assets and leverage investments that create jobs and opportunities.”

Since the inception of the EPA’s Brownfields program in 1995, cumulative brownfield program investments have leveraged more than $21 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 93,000 jobs nationwide. These projects demonstrate the positive impact a small investment of federal brownfields funding can have on community revitalization through leveraging jobs, producing clean energy, and providing recreation opportunities for surrounding neighborhoods. EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.

More information on brownfields grants by state: https://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/

More information on EPA’s brownfields:

Program https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
Benefits https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/overview/Brownfields-Benefits-postcard.pdf