Region 7

Serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and 9 Tribal Nations

EPA Joins Renewable Energy Project Dedication at LaFarge

EPA Region 7 held an "E-Scrap for Earth Day" one-day event recently at the regional headquarters campus in Kansas City, Kan., where a total of 22,902 pounds of used personal electronics equipment was collected for recycling. Region 7 employees, along with other federal workers from the greater Kansas City metro area and employees of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kan., were eligible to bring old televisions, computer equipment, cell phones and other used electronics items to be recycled. Representatives of UNICOR Federal Prison Industries handled the testing, transport and demanufacturing of donated items.

$1.36 Million in Grants for Contaminated Land Cleanup, Economic Development in Missouri

(Kansas City, Kan., May 8, 2009) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today the availability of an estimated $1,360,000 in grants, bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to help communities in Missouri clean up sites known as “brownfields” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants. The grants, which include $800,000 from the Recovery Act of 2009 and $560,000 from the EPA brownfields general program funding, will help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. News Release

$800,000 in Grants for Contaminated Land Cleanup, Economic Development in Iowa

(Kansas City, Kan., May 8, 2009) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today the availability of an estimated $800,000 in grants, bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to help communities in Iowa clean up sites known as “brownfields” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants. The grants, which include $400,000 from the Recovery Act of 2009 and $400,000 from the EPA brownfields general program funding, will help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. News Release

$1.2 Million in Grants for Contaminated Land Cleanup, Economic Development in Kansas

(Kansas City, Kan., May 8, 2009) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today the availability of an estimated $1,200,000 in grants, bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to help communities in Kansas clean up sites known as “brownfields” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants. The grants, which include $400,000 from the Recovery Act of 2009 and $800,000 from the EPA brownfields general program funding, will help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. News Release

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Kansas Receives $357K in Economic Recovery Funds to Improve Water Quality, Create Jobs

(Kansas City, Kan., April 30, 2009) – In an effort to improve water quality and create jobs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $357,300 to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A total of $39 million will be awarded nationally to states for Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) grants, which will keep and create jobs to help prevent water pollution and protect human health and the environment. News Release

Free Community Revitalization Workshops Scheduled for the cities of Dodge City, Topeka and Wichita, Kan.

(Kansas City, Kan., April 28, 2009) – EPA Region 7, in coordination with Kansas State University and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), will host three free one-day workshops next month in Dodge City, Topeka and Wichita, Kan., to provide information about available resources for the revitalization of Kansas communities. News Release

Schools and Child Care Facilities across Missouri to Receive Reminders about Lead Hazard Protection Rule

(Kansas City, Kan., April 28, 2009) - Public and private elementary schools, kindergarten and Headstart programs and child care centers across Missouri will soon receive courtesy reminders from EPA Region 7 about a federal rule aimed at protecting children from exposure to harmful lead dust generated during renovations, repairs and painting projects at their educational facilities. News Release

Schools and Child Care Facilities across Nebraska to Receive Reminders about Lead Hazard Protection Rule

(Kansas City, Kan., April 28, 2009) - Public and private elementary schools, kindergarten and Headstart programs and child care centers across Nebraska will soon receive courtesy reminders from EPA Region 7 about a federal rule aimed at protecting children from exposure to harmful lead dust generated during renovations, repairs and painting projects at their educational facilities. News Release

EPA Joins Renewable Energy Project Dedication at LaFarge

William Rice, EPA Region 7 acting administrator (at podium), spoke at the LaFarge renewable energy project dedication April 17 in Sugar Creek, Mo. LaFarge, a supplier of cement products, will collect landfill gas to reduce the use of coal at its Sugar Creek plant. The plant's landfill gas system will send it through approximately 6,500 feet of pipe into the plant's preheat tower. Converting landfill gases to energy offsets the need for non-renewable resources such as coal and oil, and cuts emissions of air pollutants that contribute to smog. Using waste to create energy has been part of EPA's sustainability and renewable fuel programs since the 1990s.

Scottsbluff, Neb., Student Wins President's Environmental Youth Award

Scottsbluff High School student Elizabeth Turnbo (pictured in foreground) will receive EPA Region 7's 2008 President's Environmental Youth Award for organizing and leading a major recycling event in her community, the Recycle Rally. Turnbo competed with other students and groups from throughout Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska to receive the award. More than 250 people participated in the Recycle Rally, a family event to educate and inform the community about the importance of recycling and where to take recyclable items. Pictured behind Turnbo (from left) are natural resource students Meredith Palomo and Danika Englehaupt, who assisted with the Recycle Rally. News Release

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