Ads by Google Ads by Google

American Samoa receives $300,000 from EPA to clean up Pago Pago Harbor & Tafuna Scrap Yard

USEPA logo
Source: USEPA media release

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced recently that American Samoa was selected to receive a $300,000 grant to assess and clean up contaminated properties under the agency’s Brownfields Program.

Nationwide, more than 151 communities have been selected to receive grants totaling more than $65.6 million in EPA Brownfields funding. These funds will help under-served and economically disadvantaged communities assess and clean up contaminated properties and return them to productive reuse.

“This Brownfields grant will provide American Samoa an opportunity to plan cleanup efforts in the Pago Pago Harbor area,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “This can lead to redevelopment, attract jobs and promote economic revitalization, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure and protecting the community and the environment.”

"We welcome the news of this Brownfields funding for the assessment of the Old Tafuna Scrap Metal Yard as a major milestone in our government’s journey to rehabilitate the property for airport development and expansion plans,” said Director of American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency Fa’amao Asalele. “We thank the EPA for this grant award as an important step towards improving our airport infrastructure."

The $300,000 Brownfields Assessment grant will support American Samoa’s assessment and cleanup planning for properties in the Pago Pago Harbor area. This funding will help advance recovery from several devastating events, including 2018’s Tropical Cyclone Gita and other tropical storms that destroyed buildings and caused flooding throughout the island. The funds will be used to assess the environmental damage in the Pago Pago harbor and work with partners toward sustainable redevelopment.

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields