The Jersey City Independent "

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The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) a total of $600,000 in grant money to clean up three contaminated sites, as part of an estimated $4.2 million the EPA is giving to five communities across the state.

“Cleaning and reusing contaminated properties provides the catalyst to improving the lives of residents living in or near brownfields communities throughout New Jersey,” EPA acting regional administrator George Pavlou says. “By revitalizing these sites, we  will reduce threats to human health and the environment, create green jobs, promote community involvement, and attract investment in local neighborhoods.”

The Jersey City sites, each of which will receive $200,000, all fall within two JCRA redevelopment areas, the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan area and the Canal Crossing Redevelopment Plan area. They are: 75 Woodward St., which has a long history of industrial and commercial use; the Garfield Junkyard site on Garfield Avenue, which was used primarily for auto repair and salvage; and the JR Transportation site at 1000 Garfield Ave., which was used as a seed storehouse for more than 50 years and later became a bus maintenance facility.

The federal money will be used to dispose of contaminated soil, place a two-foot cap on the properties, and file deeds of notice for the sites.

JCRA executive director Robert Antonicello says the agency is grateful for the money, which will get the ball rolling to clean up these sites to make them safe for redevelopment. He says that the remedial work should begin this summer.

“Environmental cleanups are a large part of urban redevelopment,” he says. “The agency is always cleaning up.”