VP GORE ANNOUNCES $11 MILLION TO HELP CLEANUP AND REDEVELOP DISTRESSED

[Maas.James@epamail.epa.gov]

                     THE WHITE HOUSE

              Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release         Contact: (202) 456-7035
Monday, June 21, 1999

       VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES $11 MILLION
        TO CLEANUP AND REDEVELOP DISTRESSED AREAS

        Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore announced
today over $11 million in grants to 57 communities across
the country to help clean up and redevelop brownfields --
abandoned, contaminated properties, often found in
distressed areas -- and return them to thriving centers
of prosperity.

        "These grants will help communities transform
brownfields into hubs of economic activity, creating new
jobs and new opportunities," said Vice President Al Gore.
"The successes we've seen across the country through this
initiative shows that communities working in partnership
with government, business and community leaders and
citizens can lead to a cleaner environment and economic
revitalization."

        To date, the federal government has awarded over 300
brownfields grants, for over $69 million, to states,
cities, towns, and tribes, building on the
Administration's record of ensuring a clean, safe
environment and a strong economy.  These grants have
leveraged nearly $1 billion for redevelopment and created
over 2,000 jobs.

        "There is no greater example of the environment and
the economy working hand-in-hand to benefit the American
people than the Administration's efforts to clean up and
revitalize brownfields," said EPA Administrator Browner.
"Across the nation, our cities are coming back to life
due in part to the new jobs and new opportunities created
by brownfields revitalization."

        Since 1993, the Administration has taken significant
steps to clean up and redevelop brownfields and return
them to productive use, such as removing legal barriers
to redevelopment; creating a national model to determine
the best way to revitalize communities; and providing a
targeted tax incentive to businesses that purchase and
cleanup these sites

        The brownfields grants awarded today total up to
$200,000 for each community.  The communities and tribes
selected to receive these new grants include:

        Arizona: Naco Fire District;
        California: Anaheim; Carson.; Lynwood; Ventura;
        Colorado: Westminster;
        Connecticut: Haddam; New Milford ; Winsted;
        Florida: Fort Lauderdale; Ocala; Sarasota;
        Georgia: Augusta;
        Illinois: Rockford;
        Indiana: Hammond; South Bend;
        Iowa: Sioux City;
        Kentucky: Covington;
        Massachusetts: Marlborough; Salem; Taunton;
        Michigan: Muskegon Heights;
        Minnesota: Minneapolis; Roseville; Twin Cities
             Metropolitan Council; Virginia;
        Missouri: Springfield;
        New Jersey: Hackensack Meadowlands District;
             Orange Township; Phillipsburg;
        New Mexico: Albuquerque; Pueblo of Acoma;
        New York: Albany; Schenectady; Seneca Nation;
             Watertown;
        North Carolina: Raleigh; Wilmington;
        North Dakota: Spirit Lake Nation;
        Ohio: Barberton; Warren;
        Oklahoma: Association of South Central Oklahoma
             Governments;
        Oregon: Coos Bay;
        Pennsylvania: Borough of Central City; Delaware
             County; Luzerne/Lackawanna Counties; Mifflin County;
             Montgomery County; Neville Township;
        South Carolina: Anderson;
        Tennessee: Chattanooga;
        Texas: San Antonio; Tarrant County;
        Vermont: Southern Windsor County Regional Planning
             Commission;
        Virginia: Newport News;
        Washington: Bellingham; and
        Wisconsin: West Allis.

        These grants also advance the Administration's new
Livability Agenda to help communities across America grow
in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong,
sustainable economic growth.

        Last January, Vice President Gore announced that the
Livability Agenda will generate $700 million per year to
provide new tools and resources for state and local
governments to help communities across America grow in
ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong,
sustainable economic growth. As part of this effort, the
new Better America Bonds initiative will provide $9.5
billion in bonding authority over five years to help
communities preserve and enhance green spaces, protect
water quality, and clean up Brownfields.

        The goal of EPA's Brownfields Redevelopment
Initiative is to yield economic benefits and protect the
environment by encouraging development on existing
industrial sites rather than in undeveloped areas.  It is
designed to empower states, local government and
communities to develop public/private partnerships that
restore abandoned sites to new uses, thereby increasing
property values, stimulating tax revenues and
revitalizing communities.

        For more information about the Brownfields
Redevelopment Initiative, please  visit EPA's web page at
www.epa.gov/brownfields.  Information also can be
obtained from the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-
9346 or 703-412-9810.

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