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EPA LAUNCHES $300,000 GRANT PROGRAM TO COMBAT SPRAWL and REVITALIZE CITIES ACROSS NE

Release Date: 06/17/1999
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office is offering $5,000 to $50,000 grants for communities, nonprofit organizations and other groups interested in pursuing projects that will deter development sprawl in New England.

Up to $300,000 of grants will be offered over the next six months under EPA-New England's new Livable Communities Grant Program, which was first announced at a sprawl conference last February in Boston. EPA began soliciting grant proposals this week and the deadline for applications is Monday, August 23. EPA expects to make grant decisions in September.

"Preserving green spaces, easing traffic congestion, protecting and improving existing neighorhoods -- these are just a few of the goals we hope to achieve through this first-of-its-kind grant program," said John P. DeVillars, EPA's New England Administrator.

"These grants are an important piece of a multi-pronged effort to reverse the proliferation of sprawl, which is undermining air and water quality in New England and eating up 1,200 acres of land each week," DeVillars added. "Communities and neighborhood groups are on the front lines of land-use decisions. With these grants, we intend to better equip local officials to better manage growth and thereby preserve the quality of life in their communities."

Letters promoting the competitive grant program were mailed this week to more than 2,000 political leaders, business leaders and community leaders across New England, including representatives from nonprofit groups, planning agencies and neighborhood groups.

The grant program is designed to encourage partnering among community groups, businesses, developers, conservationists and local government agencies to address factors that are fostering sprawl and urban decay.

Proposals should address an ongoing development or growth problem that is accelerating the loss of open space or wetlands, fragmenting habitats, degrading the environment and increasing the consumption of fossil fuels for transportation. Proposed solutions should integrate environmental protection, economic prosperity and community well-being and be designed to serve as models for other areas across New England.

The competitive grant program was among a host of other actions EPA-New England announced last winter for combating sprawl in the region. Among the other steps being pursued are:

• Development of a "Fundamentals of Smart Growth" training program that will be offered to local officials across the region beginning this fall.
• Significant expansion of the region's successful Brownfields Program to provide additional technical and financial assistance to cities that are trying to clean up contaminated parcels for redevelopment.
• Nearly $2 million in grants for the six New England state environmental agencies to support smart-growth efforts.