EPA Region 7 Visits Eastern Iowa Brownfields Sites

EPA Region 7 Visits Eastern Iowa Brownfields Sites

August 12, 2026

LENEXA, KAN. (AUG. 12, 2026) - This week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy met with city leaders from Keokuk, Burlington, Dyersville, and Dubuque to discuss recent Brownfields Grant awards and selections in Iowa.

Macy's trip through east Iowa fostered continued relationships between EPA and Brownfields Grant recipients; enabled the regional administrator to meet regional and municipal leadership throughout the state; and most importantly, brought EPA leadership to communities being revitalized through the Brownfields program.

"I cannot underscore enough the importance of trips like these," said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy. "Not only am I seeing the sites and communities being redeveloped, but I'm also able to listen and learn from our stakeholders in the Heartland so that we can continue to find practical, long-lasting solutions to their problems."

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Brownfield Redevelopment Program Coordinator Mel Pins (left) and EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy (right) tour redevelopment work underway at the Elkem-Carbide site in Keokuk, Iowa, on Aug. 11, 2026. (Photo credit: U.S. EPA)

On Aug. 11, Macy toured the Elkem-Carbide site in Keokuk with city officials. The former Elkem-Carbide plant produced carbon-based products on-site until the late 1980s, when the facility closed. Earlier this year, the city of Keokuk was awarded a $4.4 million grant from its 2024 selection to continue its cleanup efforts at the 80-acre site.

Following the tour of the site, Macy celebrated recent Brownfields Grant selections with Burlington and the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC). The city of Burlington plans to use its $1 million Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant at three priority properties identified by the city. Environmental assessments will be performed at 73 community-vetted sites in a city-defined target area after the initial properties are addressed.

SEIRPC, a regional planning commission serving four counties in southeast Iowa, plans to use their $1 million Brownfields Assessment Grant on 25 environmental assessments and to conduct activities at six community-identified properties in Donnellson, Fort Madison, and Keokuk.

City of Dubuque Economic Development Director Jill Connors (left), EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy (center), and City of Dubuque Director of Strategic Partnerships Terri Goodmann (right) tour past and present Brownfields Grant-funded projects on Aug. 12, 2026. (Photo credit: U.S. EPA)

After spending the morning in southeast Iowa, Macy and the Region 7 Brownfields team traveled to Dyersville, Iowa - home of five Brownfields sites - including the Baseball Hall of Dreams Museum. Dyersville has been a member of the East Central Intragovernmental Association of Iowa (ECIA) since 1974. Macy and the Region 7 team met with Dyersville officials and ECIA representatives to celebrate their recent $500,000 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grant. These funds will be used to continue operating revolving loan funds that finance cleanup activities and promote redevelopment at Brownfields sites throughout Dyersville and other communities represented by ECIA.

On Aug. 12 Macy traveled to Dubuque, where he met with Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh and Mayor Pro Tem David Resnick, ECIA Executive Director Mae Hingtgen, and other officials. The group toured past and present Brownfields Grant-funded projects in the city. Sites visited included the North and South Ports, historic Millwork District, Bee Branch Watershed, and Comiskey Park.

EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Macy (back, center) and staff are led on a brownfields tour with Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanaugh (back, right).

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