WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has announced more than $66 million in grants to 151 communities nationwide to assess and clean up contaminated or abandoned “brownfields.” Those are industrial and commercial properties that contain a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. An estimated 450,000 brownfields, including abandoned industrial facilities, waste disposal sites and former gas stations, plague cities, towns and rural areas throughout the country. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in an interview that the grants are “a significant opportunity” for communities that for far too long have been living with blighted pieces of property.
