Asbury Park Gets $500K From EPA To Clean Up Brownfields

ASBURY PARK, NJ — This week, the city of Asbury Park received a $500,000 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to clean up brownfields within city limits.

A brownfield is a property that is unable to be redeveloped or built on — or converted into a park or green space — because of the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.

There are many brownfield sites in New Jersey.

In Asbury Park, the $500,000 grant will be used to clean up four vacant lots on Springwood Avenue and three adjoining vacant lots on Ridge Avenue, reported the Asbury Park Press. All the lots are city owned and vacant.

It is unknown what the city of Asbury Park plans to build there once the lots are cleaned up.

“The city of Asbury Park is grateful to be the recipient of a $500,000 EPA brownfields clean-up grant," said Asbury Park Mayor John Moor. "This grant complements previous EPA brownfield and petroleum assessment grants we received, which allowed us to do the necessary research and soil testing required to determine and assess contamination. We look forward to cleaning up these lots and putting them back into productive use.”

Under the Biden administration, the EPA awarded a total of $6.5 million brownfield grants to towns across New Jersey this week.

In New Jersey, cities chosen for the brownfield funding are:

• City of Asbury Park, clean-up grant of $500,000

• Camden Redevelopment Agency, revolving loan supplemental fund of $3.5 million
• Hamilton Township, clean-up grant of $500,000
• Perth Amboy, Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Jersey City, Millville, Paterson and Trenton

Brownfield projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination to other abandoned properties that once housed dangerous chemicals. Once cleaned up, former brownfield properties can be redeveloped into grocery stores, affordable housing, health centers, museums, parks and solar farms.

The grants are funded under Biden’s Infrastructure Law, which provides a total of $1.5 billion nationwide for environmental clean-up projects.

"I’m especially glad to see that Asbury Park and Perth Amboy in my congressional district will directly benefit from this investment,” said this area's congressman, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ 6).

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