The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites.
A brownfield site is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Brownfields Program provides financial and technical assistance for brownfield revitalization, including grants for environmental assessment, cleanup, and job training.
The Downtown Management District (DMD) approached the County of El Paso to be part of the Coalition Member alongside the Rio Grande Council of Government (COG) and the City of El Paso. The DMD will serve as the lead coalition member and will request up to $600,000 to work on a minimum of five hazardous-substance sites. If granted, the assessment will focus on underutilized properties in the downtown area (see attached map) and will require no matching funds from the County.