[trentonian.com – 2023.06.29] TRENTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Trenton is slated to get $1.99 million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to clean up a former industrial site while advancing environmental justice. According to a statement from the City, this award is part of the largest-ever funding awarded in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.
Most recently, a dry-cleaning business occupied the site, but it has been vacated since 2015. The Capital City will use the nearly $2 million to clean up the facility on Prospect Avenue. In its over 100-year history, the location has been home to many industrial and commercial purposes. In 2013, in close partnership with the City and State, the EPA removed drums containing hazardous materials and investigated the site under the Superfund removal program. While the program addressed immediate risks posed by the site, there are still volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the soil and groundwater, which have prevented its use.
Standing with partners in front of the site, EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said, “What we see here today as a long-time vacant abandoned building will soon be a transformative community space—that’s environmental justice in action. This will make a real difference for people in Trenton.”
“I’m grateful for President Biden’s leadership through the Investing in America Agenda and its key provision of environmental justice. Every American deserves to live in a safe and healthy community and partnerships between the EPA, the NJDEP, and local leaders like Mayor Gusciora will help deliver an environmentally healthy future,” said Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman.
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