Source: Commercial Appeal, H. Bailey
6/3/12
Aiming to be proactive for development, Hernando will use a federal
$400,000 "brownfield" grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to
do a community assessment of blighted but potentially viable sites,
city officials said. "Places that even have the perception of being polluted are part of
this," said Community Development director Shelly Johnstone. "By
identifying such locations now with the help of environmental experts,
we can target cleanup money more effectively, and this helps planning
and the developers."
"This is the first step that will help us get cleanup funds later on," Mayor Chip Johnson said.
The grant requires a formal bid process under which city aldermen will hire the "best engineers" to conduct the study, he said. The EPA last week announced the grant for Hernando along with
$400,000 awards each to Columbus in east-central Mississippi and McComb
in the state's southwestern corner. The grants are part of $69.3 million
released nationwide by the agency to provide communities with funding
necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local
economies and create jobs while protecting public health.
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