On September 4th the EPA released a report for communities affected by the recent restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. The “Roadmap for Auto Community Revitalization” report highlights successful case studies of auto communities that have reinvigorated their local economies and provides information on sources of funding and technical assistance currently available to communities with historical ties to the automotive industry. This document is the result of the combined efforts of a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR), the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, and the Manufacturing Alliance of Communities (formerly the Mayors Automotive Coalition (MAC)), which is a coalition created and managed by The Ferguson Group.
There are many success stories of federal support, some of which are detailed in the Roadmap document. For example, the EPA’s Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program, has provided support to auto communities to assist them with their revitalization efforts, and is making investments to help promote environmental health and economic development. Since the program’s inception, EPA’s Brownfields Program investments have provided more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. In addition, federal investment has created more than 90,000 jobs from both public and private sources through this program. Success stories include: the City of Flint, MI which diversified its economy with new industries; and Fremont, California where the Tesla Motor Company took over a 50-year-old former GM facility to produce the Tesla Model S and other models that minimize air pollution.
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