The University of Connecticut is being given a $5 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The money is part of a cooperative agreement that the EPA awarded UConn to promote the work being done by a group of faculty and staff who are providing technical assistance to communities in need, a UConn Today article said.
The communities to which this assistance is being given are Brownfields sites, which are areas that are high in pollutants, causing possible environmental hazards that can negatively affect nearby residents.
The sites are typically abandoned, which in addition to causing problems for the environment, can also make the neighborhoods in proximity have a decreased property value.
The mission of participating UConn faculty and staff in the technical assistance program is to go into those communities in need and provide environmental assessments and cleanups while protecting public health and environmental justice.
Recently, the UConn’s technical assistance for Brownfields program has provided aid to over 100 communities across New England.
UConn was one of five universities who received a grant from the EPA for 2023.
“The cooperative agreement not only supports the act of identifying brownfield sites, but we’re able to offer assistance pursing grant opportunities, reviewing technical reports and documents, conducting site reuse assessments, explaining regulatory and economic issues, and engage the local community in the redevelopment process,” UConn’s Technical Assistance for Brownfields program director Marisa Chrysochoou said in a UConn Today article.
For UConn students interested in getting involved, the Municipal Assistance Program offers various resources and ways to participate in providing aid.