SC Ports resumes most operations, but recovery just beginning
Truckers working the Charleston market say it could take a week or longer to cut through the backlog of containers that didn’t move while terminal gates were shut for the better part of two days.
USDA Announces Approval of D-SNAP for Oklahoma Disaster Areas
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that low-income Oklahoma residents recovering from severe storms and tornadoes beginning April 25, 2024, could be eligible for a helping hand from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).
Biden-Harris Administration Makes History Launching New Suite of Summer Nutrition Programs to Help Tackle Hunger and Improve Healthy Eating for Millions of Children
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the launch of “SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids,” to help improve nutrition security during the summer months. Through the suite of SUN Programs, families now have more choices and convenient ways to get summer nutrition support for their children and teens with new SUN Bucks, SUN Meals, and previously launched SUN Meals To-Go.
Serve Summer Safe with Food Safety Tips from USDA
WASHINGTON, MAY 21, 2024 – Memorial Day weekend is the official kickoff for summer, and as the weather heats up, so do the number of meals that will be served outside. Whether you’re eating with friends at the pool or family in a backyard cookout, food should be served safe to avoid foodborne illness. As you start to plan your outdoor activities and meals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service is offering food safety tips to keep you safe from foodborne illness.
Gates remain closed at Charleston, inland ports amid ongoing software issue
No cargo pickups or drop-offs are taking place at Charleston’s marine terminals and SC Ports’ two inland ports as officials scramble to resolve the software problem.
USDA Awards $300 Million to Diversify Export Markets for U.S. Agriculture
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2024 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is allocating $300 million to 66 U.S. organizations, under the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), to build demand for American food and farm exports in high-potential markets around the globe.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan Hosts Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the National Environmental Museum and Education Center
WASHINGTON – Today, May 21, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan was joined by past and present Senior EPA Officials and other environmental stakeholders to officially open the National Environmental Museum and Education Center. The Center, which is located in the William Jefferson Clinton building on the corner of 13th and Pennsylvania Ave, is designed to inspire and educate the public about the nation’s environmental history and the efforts EPA and its partners at the state, local and Tribal levels have taken to protect air, water, land and public health.
“From Love Canal and the founding of EPA more than 50 years ago to the historic funding of our Investing in America agenda, our new museum chronicles our nation’s work to protect public health and the environment – a movement that has transcended political and geographic divides,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Our work with state, local and Tribal partners has changed people’s lives, it has restored our connection with the environment and our planet, and it will ensure that future generations will continue to have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, and clean land to live, work and play on.
The National Environmental Museum and Education Center tells EPA’s story since its creation under President Richard Nixon. From the Tribal communities who have cared for and called our lands home for centuries, to the states and communities who have fought to protect their air, land and water, everyone has played a role in this movement and in protecting the nation’s public health and the environment. EPA and its partners have cleaned up contaminated sites and turned them into economic engines for communities, reduced dangerous air pollution like mercury and sulfur dioxide and the greenhouse gases that are fueling climate change, removed contaminants from drinking water and cleaned up our nation’s most treasured waterways. The agency is also engaging in meaningful ways with environmental justice and overburdened communities to bring about positive changes in every single zip code.
As visitors explore the museum, they will learn about environmental conditions in the 1960s and 1970s before EPA was established. They will explore the progress that EPA and its partners have made as well as the work still to be done to ensure that everyone in this country has access to clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and clean land to play on. They will also learn what actions they can take to be a part of the nation’s environmental future. Whether it’s recycling, driving an electric vehicle, composting food waste, installing rooftop solar on their homes or planting native plants, each visitor can be an active participant in bringing awareness to the environmental issues that impact communities across the country.
For the remainder of May 2024, the museum will be open Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed federal holidays). Beginning in June 2024, the museum will be open Tuesday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed federal holidays). To request to visit the museum at another date or time, please send an email to NEMEC@epa.gov.
For additional information on the museum, please visit the National Environmental Museum and Education Center page.
“From Love Canal and the founding of EPA more than 50 years ago to the historic funding of our Investing in America agenda, our new museum chronicles our nation’s work to protect public health and the environment – a movement that has transcended political and geographic divides,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Our work with state, local and Tribal partners has changed people’s lives, it has restored our connection with the environment and our planet, and it will ensure that future generations will continue to have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, and clean land to live, work and play on.
The National Environmental Museum and Education Center tells EPA’s story since its creation under President Richard Nixon. From the Tribal communities who have cared for and called our lands home for centuries, to the states and communities who have fought to protect their air, land and water, everyone has played a role in this movement and in protecting the nation’s public health and the environment. EPA and its partners have cleaned up contaminated sites and turned them into economic engines for communities, reduced dangerous air pollution like mercury and sulfur dioxide and the greenhouse gases that are fueling climate change, removed contaminants from drinking water and cleaned up our nation’s most treasured waterways. The agency is also engaging in meaningful ways with environmental justice and overburdened communities to bring about positive changes in every single zip code.
As visitors explore the museum, they will learn about environmental conditions in the 1960s and 1970s before EPA was established. They will explore the progress that EPA and its partners have made as well as the work still to be done to ensure that everyone in this country has access to clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and clean land to play on. They will also learn what actions they can take to be a part of the nation’s environmental future. Whether it’s recycling, driving an electric vehicle, composting food waste, installing rooftop solar on their homes or planting native plants, each visitor can be an active participant in bringing awareness to the environmental issues that impact communities across the country.
For the remainder of May 2024, the museum will be open Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed federal holidays). Beginning in June 2024, the museum will be open Tuesday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed federal holidays). To request to visit the museum at another date or time, please send an email to NEMEC@epa.gov.
For additional information on the museum, please visit the National Environmental Museum and Education Center page.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $2 million in Brownfield Grants Through Investing in America Agenda to Rehabilitate and Revitalize Communities in Virginia
PHILADELPHIA (May 21, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday $2 million in grant awards from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Virginia while advancing environmental justice. These investments through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant Programs will help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets, while helping to create good jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities.
EPA selected two communities in Virginia to receive competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant programs.
“President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That's why he secured historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supercharging EPA’s Brownfields program to clean up contaminated properties in overburdened communities and bring them back into productive use.”
“Today’s announcement invests more than $26,000,000 across the mid-Atlantic to support the revitalization of brownfields,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “This funding will help assess and cleanup contamination, create jobs by returning idle properties to productive reuse, and continue our progress toward a healthy and safe environment for all Americans.”
Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
EPA’s Brownfields Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations in all aspects of its work. Approximately 86% of the MAC and RLF Supplemental program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities.
Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Program Selection
The following organizations in Virginia have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs.
Dublin, Virginia has been selected to receive $1 million. Funds will be used to conduct five Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments, and conduct community engagement, cleanup planning, and remediation activities at the Former Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mixed-Use District, Warehouse District, Future Use Area A, and Future Use Area B priority sites located within the Dublin Industrial Park at 600 Newbern Road.
Dumfries, Virginia has been selected to receive $1 million. Funds will be used to conduct four Phase I and two Phase II environmental site assessments and conduct community engagement and reuse planning activities. Grant funds also will be used to clean up the 3800 Graham Park Road site and the Campbell Salvage Yard at 17926 Colonial Port Road.
Additional Background:
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this program made approximately $60 million available each year. Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has now increased that yearly investment nearly 400 percent. More than half of the funding available for this grant cycle (approximately $160 million) comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment has also allowed the MAC grants’ maximum award amounts to increase significantly from $500,000 to a new maximum of $5 million per award.
Visit the EPA website for more information on the Brownfields Program.
EPA selected two communities in Virginia to receive competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant programs.
“President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That's why he secured historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supercharging EPA’s Brownfields program to clean up contaminated properties in overburdened communities and bring them back into productive use.”
“Today’s announcement invests more than $26,000,000 across the mid-Atlantic to support the revitalization of brownfields,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “This funding will help assess and cleanup contamination, create jobs by returning idle properties to productive reuse, and continue our progress toward a healthy and safe environment for all Americans.”
Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
EPA’s Brownfields Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations in all aspects of its work. Approximately 86% of the MAC and RLF Supplemental program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities.
Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Program Selection
The following organizations in Virginia have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant Programs.
Dublin, Virginia has been selected to receive $1 million. Funds will be used to conduct five Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments, and conduct community engagement, cleanup planning, and remediation activities at the Former Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mixed-Use District, Warehouse District, Future Use Area A, and Future Use Area B priority sites located within the Dublin Industrial Park at 600 Newbern Road.
Dumfries, Virginia has been selected to receive $1 million. Funds will be used to conduct four Phase I and two Phase II environmental site assessments and conduct community engagement and reuse planning activities. Grant funds also will be used to clean up the 3800 Graham Park Road site and the Campbell Salvage Yard at 17926 Colonial Port Road.
Additional Background:
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this program made approximately $60 million available each year. Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has now increased that yearly investment nearly 400 percent. More than half of the funding available for this grant cycle (approximately $160 million) comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment has also allowed the MAC grants’ maximum award amounts to increase significantly from $500,000 to a new maximum of $5 million per award.
Visit the EPA website for more information on the Brownfields Program.