Cook County receives U.S. EPA grants for south suburban communities

Abandoned landfill in Chicago Heights. Image courtesy of IL EPA

From Cook County Government news:

The Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability was awarded two brownfield grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

These grants will aid south suburban communities in assessing possible contamination on vacant or underused properties. The grants will also aid in the remediation of properties in some south and west suburban communities. The goal is to return brownfield properties to productive use creating jobs, bolstering the local tax base and creating other local economic development benefits.

A $600,000 Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant will allow properties in south suburban Chicago Heights, Ford Heights and Sauk Village to be assessed for potential contamination. Sites will be chosen cooperatively with the local municipalities.

The grant will allow initial assessments of about 40 sites and final assessments of 20 of those 40 sites.

In addition, Cook County was awarded a $751,000 Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund grant that will provide resources to redevelop and reuse brownfield sites through loans for cleanup in Chicago Heights, Ford Heights and Sauk Village. West suburban brownfield sites already assessed in Bellwood, Maywood, Schiller Park and Franklin Park are also eligible for the funding. Federal funds through these grants will become available on October 1, 2018. Read more.