Environmental Protection Agency grant will aid clean up planning on Boulder Highway
The 8-mile segment of Boulder Highway in Henderson is on the road to revitalization, thanks to a half-million dollar grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The $550,000 in federal funds awarded through the Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup grant program, will be used to plan cleanups along the stretch for possibly contaminated areas also known as brownfields. Brownfields often include abandoned commercial or industrial properties that may have some sort of environmental contamination.
The Boulder Highway Corridor has a long history of industrial and auto-related uses, including dealerships, body shops and gas stations. Many properties along the highway are abandoned and redevelopment is hampered by the potential presence of contamination.
“This much-needed grant will help the City of Henderson not only identify and assess the properties that have been long abandoned and in need of revitalization, but also enable us to compete for additional funding for cleanup efforts to catalyze redevelopment,” Mayor Andy Hafen said in a statement.
Henderson partnered with the Henderson Redevelopment Agency and the Southern Nevada Health District to apply for the grant and was the only entity in Nevada to be awarded funding.
This grant is a direct result of the previous planning work done in the corridor, leveraging both the Boulder Highway Investment Strategy and, most recently, the SNS Regional Plan that identified Boulder Highway as a key corridor to connect jobs, transportation and housing.
The EPA distributed more than $55 million to 131 communities across the country to transform idle lands into new businesses — creating jobs and helping to re-establish properties.
Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Find @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.
