Feb. 27—As part of U.S. President Joe Biden‘s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Tuesday a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects nationwide at more than 100 Superfund sites, including in Nevada City.

Officials said thanks to funding made possible by Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites will be launched nationwide, including California’s Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine in Clearlake Oaks, the Lava Cap Mine in Nevada City, and the Southern Avenue Industrial Area in South Gate.

“Thanks to unprecedented funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is delivering significant investment to achieving the goal of long-term protection for communities living closest to contaminated sites,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in a statement. “With our Superfund cleanups, we are taking firm action to protect the health, safety, and environment of communities throughout California and the Pacific Southwest.”

At the Lava Cap Mine site in Nevada City, a 33-acre former gold and silver mine just east of Grass Valley that operated from 1861 to 1943, federal officials said funding will be used to construct a wetland treatment plant to treat water discharging from the former mine area.

“The chemicals of concern at this site are arsenic, manganese, and iron,” the EPA said. “Arsenic is a known carcinogen. Iron and manganese are not considered risks to human health but can cause taste, odor, color, and staining problems when carried in water. The treatment plant will use processes, including metal precipitation, settling ponds, and lime addition, before downstream discharge.”

The EPA said “thousands of contaminated sites” exist in the U.S. due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites can include toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills, and mining and can harm the health and well-being of local communities in urban and rural areas.

“Californians shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinking water, soil, or food supply, but residents near mining and manufacturing sites face significant health risks,” U.S. Senator Alex Padilla said in a statement. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, millions of dollars are coming to California to help clean up hazardous waste in these communities — and I will keep fighting to hold polluters responsible so that taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for cleanups.”

The investment announced on Tuesday is the final wave of funding from the $3.5 billion allocated for Superfund cleanup work in Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, officials said. To date, the EPA has deployed over $2 billion for cleanup activities at over 150 Superfund National Priorities List sites.

“EPA has been able to provide as much funding for cleanup work in the past two years as it did in the previous five years while delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution,” officials said.

The EPA said it is committed to continuing needed cleanup work, advancing environmental justice, and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. Officials said more than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site, with about 80% of the funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law having gone to sites in communities with potential environmental justice concerns.

“The EPA’s announcement today is wonderful news for communities that have been impacted by Superfund sites,” U.S Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44), said in a statement. “In my district in Southern California, the contaminated Southern Avenue Industrial Area in South Gate has been on the Superfund Program’s National Priorities list for over a decade. Today’s funding announcement is the first step to cleaning up and improving this site. The Infrastructure and Jobs Act that I voted for and President Biden signed into law will continue to help clean up these toxic Superfund sites that contaminate soil and groundwater in frontline communities.”