GOWANDA — The United State Environmental Protection Agency announced $3 million in Brownfields Grants for communities across New York, with one local community included, Gowanda.

The purpose of the grant is to assess and clean up contaminated properties under the agency’s Brownfields Program. Over the past three years, the EPA has delivered approximately $287 million in Brownfield grants directly to communities and nonprofits for cleanup and redevelopment, job creation, and economic development through the award of over 948 grants.

These grants will now be able to be seen locally, as Gowanda has been selected for a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant targeting 20 sites within the Central Business District, the Eco/Recreational Tourism Corridor, and the Agri-hub Agritourism District.

“On behalf of the Village of Gowanda, our Board of Trustees, Employees, and Community at large, I would like to express my extreme gratitude and excitement on being awarded the Brownfield Assessment Program funding,” said David L. Smith, Mayor of the Village of Gowanda. “These funds are essential to continue to identify and assess properties in need of remediation while making them even more attractive and enticing to potential developers. This funding will eliminate financial burden as we approach final stages of our brownfield opportunity and development.”

Grant funds will be used to identify sites for assessment, to assess sites for hazardous substances, to complete cleanup and reuse plans, and to carry out community outreach activities and website updates.

“We’ve long supported the EPA’s Brownfields program because I care about the economic and environmental health of communities across Western New York,” said Congressman Tom Reed (NY-23). “By working with the public to fund new strategies to clean up these sites, we can reduce historical pollution, generate new economic opportunities, and open up previously unusable land for environmentally responsible development and enjoyment.”