SW Indiana city gets $300K to address old industrial sites

SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) - A southwestern Indiana city has landed a $300,000 federal grant to combat contamination at several old industrial sites.

Officials with the city of Sullivan plan to use some of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funding to investigate potential environmental contamination at up to 10 properties, including vacant filling stations and a dry cleaner.

The funding will also give a boost to redevelopment efforts that Mayor Clinton Lamb says will provide "a very important economic tool."

The Tribune-Star reports the EPA says the agency's grants to address so-called "brownfields" have been shown to boost local tax revenue and property values.

The EPA says one study of 48 brownfield sites found that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional local tax revenue was generated in a single year after cleanups.

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Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com