MARCH 9,
2015
NEW YORK, NY
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it is providing
$200,000 to the City of Rochester, New York to create a plan for revitalizing
the neighborhood impacted by the Orchard-Whitney brownfield site. This funding
is part of EPA’s Brownfields Area-Wide Planning program, which helps
communities develop specific strategies that integrate the cleanup and reuse of
brownfields sites in larger, coordinated efforts to revitalize neighborhoods. Brownfields
are properties where moderate contamination threatens environmental quality and
public health and can interfere with productive reuse of the properties.
“This EPA grant in Rochester
will empower the community to assess, clean up and revitalize formerly
contaminated sites and their impacted neighborhoods through a locally-driven
planning process,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “This
comprehensive approach will help create jobs while protecting the health of
area residents and improving the environment.”
The City of Rochester is
partnering with Charles Settlement House and Charles House Neighbors in Action
to transform the Jay Orchard Street Area Neighborhood through a strategic plan
to revitalize the area. The plan will provide housing, employment and resources
to the community. The study will also help leverage additional funds for site
redevelopment.
The EPA’s
Brownfields Program supports states, communities, and others to work together
to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.
The Brownfields
Area-Wide Planning program is part of the
Partnership for Sustainable Communities collaboration among EPA, the
Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The
Partnership for Sustainable Communities ensures that the agencies consider
affordable housing, transportation, and environmental protection in concert to
create healthier communities.
The partnership is helping communities across the
country to create affordable housing choices, make transportation more
efficient and reliable, reinforce existing infrastructure investments, and
support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses. To date the
program has leveraged approximately $418 million in infrastructure and project
development investments.