EPA Awards $476K To Clean Up Mines In Napa, Solano, Yolo, Lake Counties

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded federal funding to clean up abandoned mine sites in Napa, Solano, Yolo and Lake counties, EPA officials announced today.

The Solano County Water Agency and the Westside Sacramento Integrated Water Management Group will receive $467,000 to assess the contamination in the mines in the four counties.

There are approximately 100 abandoned mines in the upper Cache Creek and Putah Creek watersheds of the inter-coastal mountain range west of the Sacramento River in the four counties, EPA spokeswoman Suzanne Skadowski said.

The four counties are among 147 communities in the country that receive federal funding to assess and clean up the contaminated properties known as brownfields for reuse and development.

The Solano County Water Agency’s assessment will prioritize the mine-scarred brownfields on private lands that may be revitalized for open space, trails, economic development, habitat restoration and water quality improvement, Skadowski said.

The EPA’s brownfields program, which began in 1995, has leveraged more than $22 billion from public and private sources for clean-up and redevelopment of brownfields and has created 105,942 jobs nationwide, Skadowski said.

--Bay City News

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