Saskatchewan municipalities can now apply for funding to clean up abandoned, environmentally impacted sites through the Impacted Sites Fund.
Administered by the Ministry of Environment, the fund provides financial support to municipal governments to clean up these sites so they can be used for future economic or social development opportunities. An abandoned, environmentally impacted site is an area, such as a former gas station or laundromat, that has been contaminated.
“In addition to the obvious environmental and human health benefits of cleaning up contaminated sites, the Impacted Sites Fund will allow communities to use those sites for other, economically beneficial purposes,” Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said.
The program will be funded on an ongoing basis through fines issued and collected under The Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2010. To date, there is approximately $178,000 available in the fund.
The Ministry of Environment will assess and rank the applications according to environmental, social, and economic factors. First priority will be given to sites that pose the greatest risk to human or ecological health.
In 2018, the ministry invited stakeholders to provide feedback on the funding process, which was used in the development of the Impacted Sites Fund.
Municipalities can apply for funding at www.saskatchewan.ca/business/environmental-protection-and-sustainability/hazardous-materials-and-safe-waste-management.
