RDA Issues RFQ for Environmental Services
EPA Partnership to Clean Up NWI
The RDA is soliciting Qualifications from firms interested in providing professional environmental services to support implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grant and Brownfield Redevelopment Programs for a coalition consisting of the cities of East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond.
EPA has awarded RDA two grants: $600,000 to assess contaminated sites called "brownfields" in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, and $800,000 to establish a revolving loan fund to help clean those sites up. For more details, check out the new Web site for the Northwest Indiana Brownfields Coalition.
The Coalition is another example of the RDA's trusted relationships with local communities, state agencies and federal agencies. As the recipient of the EPA grants, the RDA will work closely with the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), the cities of the Coalition, state agencies such as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the EPA. By removing decades of contamination, we can level the playing field for new economic development in Northwest Indiana and lay the foundation for new jobs and businesses. Many completed RDA projects, most notably the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, were once brownfield sites that have been returned to use and are now spurring economic development.
