-Staff reports-
The former O’Neill Manufacturing site in North Rome is one of Floyd County’s identified brownfield sites.
On Friday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Kevin McOmber and U.S. Representative Clay Fuller will join state and local officials to highlight $6 million in brownfield funding.
This investment includes $500,000 to the Rome-Floyd County Development Authority to expand the inventory of brownfield sites and assess prospective properties.
$1.5 million will go to Northwest Georgia Regional Commission to assess properties for potential redevelopment, and $4 million is being awarded to the City of Chickamauga to clean up the former Crystal Springs Print Works site, so it can be returned to productive reuse.
The EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided over $3 billion in grant funding to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse.
To date, brownfields investments leveraged more than $45 billion in cleanup and redevelopment.
Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding was able to leverage, from both public and private sources, more than 228,900 jobs.
Through fiscal year 2025, on average, $19.47 was leveraged for each EPA Brownfields Grant dollar awarded through multipurpose, assessment, revolving loan fund , and cleanup cooperative agreements.
The grants will officially be announced on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Chickamagua Civic Center.
Those expected to attend are:
Kevin McOmber, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 4
Clay Fuller, U.S. Representative (GA-14)
Jeff Cown, Director, Georgia Environmental Protection Division
Evitte Parrish, Mayor, City of Chickamauga
Boyd Austin, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
Evie McNiece, Board Member, Rome Floyd County Development Authority
