EPA Region 7 Presents $1.2M to Southeast Nebraska Development District

EPA Region 7 Presents $1.2M to Southeast Nebraska Development District

September 30, 2025

LENEXA, KAN. (SEPT. 30, 2025) - Today, in Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy presented a $1.2 million Brownfields Assessment Grant to the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD). Macy was joined by Lancaster County Commissioner Chelsea Johnson, Nebraska City Mayor Bryan Bequette, and Lancaster Community Action Partnership CEO Heather Loughman.

"It is an honor to provide these resources to SENDD, fueling their redevelopment initiatives and contributing to the Great American Comeback," said EPA Regional Administrator Macy. "Revolving loan funds are a powerful tool that provides initial capital for cleaning up brownfields sites, and as these loans are repaid, the funds can be reinvested into new projects, creating a continuous cycle of revitalization and economic growth within the community."

"Our coalition is committed to transforming underutilized and potentially contaminated properties into assets that strengthen our community," said SENDD Chairman Erich Tiemann. "By working together, we will leverage this Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant to protect public health, encourage sustainable redevelopment, and create new opportunities for residents and businesses alike."

EPA has selected the Southeast Nebraska Development District to lead a Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct 30 Phase I and 15 Phase II environmental site assessments, develop 16 cleanup plans and support reuse planning and community engagement activities.

Assessment activities will focus on the City of Lincoln's West Haymarket neighborhood; City of Crete's South Crete Recreational Corridor; South Fairbury neighborhood in the City of Fairbury, and Nebraska City's Central Business District. Priority sites include a 1.2-acre former bulk oil facility and a 0.75-acre abandoned grain elevator in West Haymarket; the 60-acre former municipal Airfield in Crete; a 0.29-acre metal salvage facility and a 0.6-acre municipal power plant in South Fairbury; and a 68,000-square-foot former hospital and a former railroad depot in Nebraska City. Non-lead coalition members include the cities of Crete and Fairbury and Growing Regional Economic Activity Today.

Background

These grants are part of FY 2025 Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), Cleanup Grants, and RLF Supplemental Funding announcedin May 2025. View the list of selected applicants.

EPA's Brownfields program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and cleanup contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, brownfields investments have leveraged over $42 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding was able to leverage over 220,500 jobs from both public and private sources.

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