Keokuk received $2 million grant for environmental cleanup

KEOKUK (WGEM)- EPA Region Seven presented a two million dollar check to the City of Keokuk.

Grant funds will be used to clean up the Elkem-Carbide Site Redevelopment Platt one property located at 365 Carbide Lane.

This competitive grant program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

According to EPA Region Seven Administrator Meg McCollister, Keokuk received this grant due to how well Keokuk officials showed how the grant would benefit them.

The site was historically used for industrial operations, including as a zinc smelter and lead alloying facility, and carbide manufacturing.

It has been vacant since 2007 and is contaminated with several environmentally hazardous materials.

Here is how receiving this grant is important for Keokuk officials.

“It is very important first of all for the environmental aspect of it. That is number one, and then for the opportunity for occupational things for industries,” said Keokuk Mayor Kathie Mahoney. “And more than anything it is nice to clean and clear so we can say that Keokuk is a cleaner better place to live.”

These investments will also create a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, build a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change, and make our communities more resilient.

These investments are part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure to driving over $470 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean-energy investments in the United States.

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