US House of Representatives extends Brownfield grant program through 2022

The House bill, which passed 409-8, reauthorizes the program at the $200 million level annually. It authorizes $50 million in annual grants for states and Native American Tribes, and it tweaks several aspects of the program, including multipurpose grants and the law’s funding caps.

“It allowed for the construction of the Southside Little League fields,” he said.

Brownfield grants are also the reason Highlawn has become a major component of the city’s redevelopment plan, Chambers said.

The city is working to acquire 75 acres of brownfield properties. Using grant money, an area-wide plan has been developed that shows how the properties can be used for a baseball stadium, hotels, retail spaces, residential buildings and industrial sites.

The brownfield grants allow the city to assess the conditions on the property and also provide funds to remediate the problems, Chambers said.

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams will attend a brownfield development conference this week in Pittsburgh with other mayors in cities developing similar properties.

At a similar meeting of mayors in March, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that he would fight to protect funding for the program even as the Trump administration proposed deep cuts to the agency as a whole, according to an article by The Hill.

The bill will now need to pass the Senate before it can be signed into law by the president.

Follow reporter Taylor Stuck on Twitter and Facebook @TaylorStuckHD.