Cities in 38 states and two territories will split $71 million in federal funds for cleaning up blighted and polluted areas, Environmental Protection Agency officials announced. Five tribal nations also will share the money, which is meant to revitalize neighborhoods damaged by pollution, contaminated by oil, scarred by mining and blighted by the sale of illegal drugs.
TRENTON, N.J. -- Cities in 38 states and two territories will split $71 million in federal funds for cleaning up blighted and polluted areas, Environmental Protection Agency officials announced Monday.
Five tribal nations also will share the money, which is meant to revitalize neighborhoods damaged by pollution, contaminated by oil, scarred by mining and blighted by the sale of illegal drugs.
"Communities are turning urban blight into urban pride, and also removing the environmental impact of these industrial sites," said Marcus Peacock, deputy administrator for the EPA.
Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said the city's share of the money will go toward cleaning up contamination from abandoned gas stations.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said the money doesn't go far enough to help cities deal with polluted neighborhoods. He also said there is not enough federal oversight of areas that are cleaned up to make sure the job is done properly.
According to the EPA, there are about 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites across the country. In 2002, President Bush signed legislation that provides for annual grants to help clean up those sites.
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Source: Associated Press
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