EPA Awards Wisconsin $12 Million For Brownfield Cleanup
Milwaukee's Redevelopment Authority among winners.
3116 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded more than $12.4 million in brownfield grants to Wisconsin communities Friday for cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated sites.
The EPA said it’s part of $267 million awarded nationwide to transform polluted sites into housing and business developments to promote economic growth. The move comes as the agency has halted funds for environmental justice and climate work and reorganizes as part of cost-cutting measures by the Trump administration.
“EPA’s Brownfields program demonstrates how environmental stewardship and economic prosperity complement each other,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA is Powering the Great American Comeback, ensuring our nation has the cleanest air, land, and water while supporting sustainable growth and fiscal responsibility.”
The Trump administration has sought to rein in more than two dozen environmental regulations in favor of oil and gas projects, saying it lowers costs for Americans and businesses.
EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel said the grants will protect public health and the environment “while remaining good stewards of tax dollars and advancing policies to energize the economy.”
The money will go to nine local, state and tribal entities. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee and city of West Allis will receive between $650,000 and $3 million in supplemental money for revolving loan funds to finance redevelopment projects.
In Milwaukee, the city’s redevelopment authority will use $650,000 to fund cleanups at the Compass Lofts, Tempo by Hilton Milwaukee hotel and the Historic Patterson Place The agency will also receive $500,000 for cleaning up a site that’s being leased by the nonprofit Jewish Community Center for a food pantry. The money will be used to clean up the site and a 50,000-square-foot warehouse that’s contaminated with volatile organic compounds.
Six other communities and the Oneida Nation will receive anywhere from $500,000 to $2 million to conduct environmental assessments or cleanups. They include the cities of Kenosha, Racine and Brillion.
The move comes as Zeldin has said the EPA canceled $1.7 billion in grants as part of efforts by the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency to slash funding, programs and the federal workforce.
Trump has also proposed cutting the agency’s 2026 budget by more than half and cutting staff to levels not seen since the Reagan administration. Environmental advocates have said that will affect the agency’s ability to address contaminated sites.
EPA awards Wisconsin $12M to clean up contaminated sites was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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