PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An environmental group in West Philadelphia is getting more than $400,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up contaminated and abandoned industrial sites.
The EPA says the money will help underserved communities address environmental justice concerns.
JASTECH Environmental Services Incorporated is one of the recipients of the grant, says Brittany Smith, project manager of EPA region 3.
"JASTECH, which stands for juveniles active in science and technology, will launch the Overbrook Farm and urban waters training center," Smith said.
The EPA's Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities to clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties.
"Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly communities that have experienced long periods of disinvestment and decay, lack the resources to initiate brownfields cleanup and redevelopment projects," said Diana Esher, EPA's acting regional administrator.
Tavis Dockwiller with Viridian Landscape Studio says this cleanup is really important for the city — "because it is going to give to the Overbrook Environmental Center the much larger site and a site that will be able to support more programming for the neighborhood."
Esher adds that the EPA's Brownfields Program grants help empower local communities to address economic, environmental, public health and social issues.