(Riverton, WY) – The City of Riverton received a $500,000 Brownfields Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday, June 17, at an announcement presentation held at the City Hall.
The EPA’s Brownfields Program “began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse,” according to a recent release from the EPA.
The grant is one of only 50 in the country that was awarded as a part of a 2023 EPA program.
“This investment supports locally driven redevelopment, unlocking economic opportunity, creating jobs, and improving public health outcomes in communities in Wyoming,” the release also informs.
City of Riverton Community Development Director Gary Michaud, who was also announced as the project lead, shared that the grant is going to focus on community revitalization along the corridor entrance to the city, on Federal Boulevard.
Michaud then introduced EPA Region 8 Administrator Cyrus Western, who went on to explain that the Brownfield funds are a collaboration and partnership “between the federal government, the EPA and local communities.”
“Fremont county is a beautiful place. Riverton’s an awesome town. And I think this kind of funding can be the start of a journey… to create something that can really enrich and enhance this community,” Western remarked. “… there’s a lot of great potential here in Riverton.”
Western had previously explained in the recent release that “with Brownfields funding, we’re helping towns across the state clean up vacant sites and put that land back to productive use,” whether that be “attracting small businesses, building housing, or supporting community needs.”
“I think that Riverton is a very special place,” Mayor Hancock later commented during the presentation. “…my biggest focus is having it be a place where my kids can be. Where there’s space, there’s places that are going to be attractive to them, that are going to make it so that they want to stick around. That there’s jobs, that there’s houses, any of that. And this program is a huge part of that.”
“I’ve had a couple of people that I’ve talked to about what can we do to revitalize Riverton,” Mayor Hancock continued. “I think this is one of our first steps… the idea of let’s identify the areas that we can improve. …We just recently found ourselves in a position where we now are in ownership of what has been known as the Riverwalk… and just these different areas within the town that we can beautify, that we can make it so that people say, hey, Riverton is really a nice place.”
The EPA release explained that the City of Riverton “plans on using EPA Brownfields funding to complete 25 environmental assessments at numerous sites throughout the target area, including a former drive-in theater, auto storage lot and riverfront property.”
“Contaminants of concern in the area that pose harmful health effects to the local community include petroleum hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead and benzene,” the release also informs. “After assessment and cleanup activities, the City plans on redeveloping the sites for mixed-use development, creating job opportunities and revitalizing the local economy.”
City Administrator Kyle Butterfield later explained that the impetus behind the city applying for the grant, which can and must be spent over the course of four years, happened about a year ago when city officials attended a Wyoming Association of Municipalities conference.
“I became very interested in a presentation on the SPUR program by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality,” Butterfield shared (SPUR stands for State Partnership for Urban and Rural Development). “The goal of SPUR was to assess environmental conditions, clean up guided properties, and collaborate with stakeholders. …collaboration between our community members, landowners, and our government. It’s an opportunity to work together.”
From there, Butterfield realized Riverton could accomplish some of these goals on its own if the EPA accepted the grant proposal.
Butterfield further clarified that the funds that will be received from this grant are meant just for “planning and assessments.”
“They won’t be used for capital projects at this point, but it’s an opportunity again, to look at what we have and project into the future of what could be, especially when we look at reinvestment and revitalization.”
He added that the area that is projected to be included in this Brownfield community assessment is “located at the south entrance of Riverton along the Federal Boulevard corridor.”
“The area starts right there at the Wind River and ends at Main Street and is bordered to the west, close to where the Wyoming Heritage Trail is located, all the way to the eastern city boundary,” Butterfield continued, but clarified that over the four years the city has to utilize these funds, it won’t be restricted to just that geographic area.
“We’ll have opportunity to work with our EPA partners and with others to identify areas of opportunity and investment.”
In terms of next steps, Buterfield said the city will work to secure a consultant who will help with the utilization of these funds.
“We will do site inventories, community outreach, area wide planning, and then environmental research and reports,’ Butterfield commented. “So much left to do. But what a great way to kick this off.’
More information on the Brownfields Grants provided by the EPA is available below.
These grants are part of $267 million in Brownfields Grants nationally announced previously by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. This funding puts the agency’s commitment to protect human health and the environment into action while remaining good stewards of tax dollars and advancing policies to energize the economy.
Brownfields grants are a powerful catalyst for local economic growth. Communities in Wyoming have used previous EPA grants to assess, clean up and attract new development. Nationally, Brownfields funding delivers proven results.
Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields and Land Revitalization grant opportunities.
To date, Brownfields investments leveraged more than $42 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 220,500 jobs.
A full list of the 2025 applicants selected for funding is available online.
The EPA anticipates that it will make these awards once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by selected recipients.