TDEC Helps City of Dunlap Receive $632,807 Federal Remediation Grant

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) helped the City of Dunlap receive a federal grant of $632,807 to remediate the former Victory Automotive property in the city.

The funds are among three federal grants for brownfield remediation announced for communities in Tennessee by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The grants include $3.5 million for the City of Chattanooga and $1.5 million for the South Central Tennessee Development District and its partners, bringing the total in the state to $5,632,807.

TDEC worked with the grantees in support of their applications for the federal funds and will continue to assist them, providing technical oversight throughout the life of the grants.

“We congratulate these communities on their success in obtaining the grants, and we are pleased to have provided assistance in the process,” said Greg Young, deputy commissioner for Environment at TDEC. “Brownfields can not only be cleaned up but can become community assets, and these federal grants will go a long way in making that happen in Tennessee.”   

The EPA announced over $300 million in grants from the Investing in America initiative to help states, tribal nations, local governments, and non-profit organizations clean up polluted brownfield sites throughout the country.

The EPA selected Dunlap for a brownfields cleanup grant funded by the Bipartisan infrastructure Law. The funds will be used to clean up the former Victory Automotive site at 320 Walnut St. and 15480 and 15522 Rankin Ave. The 2.4-acre cleanup site most recently operated as an auto repair facility and used car dealership. It closed in 2020 and is vacant and contaminated with inorganic contaminants and volatile organic compounds. The grant also will be used to develop a final cleanup plan and support community engagement activities.

The South Central Tennessee Development District, based in Mount Pleasant, has partnered with the City of Shelbyville, Bedford County, and Lincoln County to assist with the assessment of brownfields in 13 counties. The supplemental Revolving Loan Funding grant for Chattanooga is to assist with the cleanup of brownfields throughout the city.

A brownfield is a property that is vacant or underutilized due to contamination. Remediation minimizes threats to public health, safety, and the environment. Brownfield sites vary in size, location, age, and past use.