The cities of Wilson and Greenville recently received twin grants from the Environmental Protection Agency totaling 1,000,000 dollars. Lee Jenkins has more.
The grants will be used to establish a revolving loan fund, which will offer low-interest loans to private-sector developers and property owners interested in cleaning up minor chemical contamination sites on their properties. There are at least two dozen of the so-called “Brownfields” in Greenville, ranging from abandoned gas pumps to derelict warehouses. Greenville’s Economic Development Officer, Carl Reese, hopes the program will continue to fund itself with proceeds from the loans.
“As the loan proceeds come back in, you’re able to loan those funds back out. So, ideally, this would be something’s that around for many, many years.”
Over the next few months, city officials will be working with the EPA to establish program guidelines and outline the application process. I’m Lee Jenkins.