The EPA has opened up $235 million in funding to help counties assess and clean up brownfields in their communities.  Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $235 million in grants to assess and clean up polluted brownfield sites across the country. The new grants through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) program will advance environmental justice and help transform what were once polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into…

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley's national bottle bill recently had a hearing, complexities of implementation were highlighted.  Late last month Sen. Jeff Merkley's national bottle bill came up for a hearing before the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee. One of the main themes of the hearing was the challenge of ensuring a national bottle bill did not negatively impact state and local recycling infrastructure. Similar legislation was introduced in 2021 but…

The EPA recently opened up $7.5 billion in competitive low-interest loan funding to finance upgrades and maintenance for water infrastructure.  Late last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7.5 billion in available Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. This innovative low-interest loan program helps communities invest in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while saving millions of dollars and creating good-paying local jobs. To date, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced $19…

The EPA awarded Baltimore City $4 million to develop a solar-powered, scalable composting facility.  With the help of a $4 million award from the EPA, City of Baltimore will develop a solar-powered, scalable composting facility co-located with the new East Side Transfer Station at Bowley’s Lane. The proposed development leverages funds from the transfer station development project and from a partnership with Baltimore’s Department of Parks and Recreation. This project will result in 12,000 tons…

The EPA has opened $19 million in competitive grants to help improve the climate resilience of the drinking water infrastructure.  Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $19 million in new grant funding that will work to improve the climate resilience of the nation’s water infrastructure. EPA’s Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability grant program will support drinking water systems in underserved, small, and disadvantaged communities that are working to prepare…