Scottsburg included in $500,000 Southern Indiana brownfields assessment grant

SCOTTSBURG, Ind. — Scottsburg is included in a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment Grant awarded to the River Hills Economic Development District and Regional Planning Commission, giving the city access to federally supported environmental site assessments.

The grant announcement, issued July 7, 2026, names Scottsburg along with New Albany and Charlestown as communities covered by the award. The funding is intended to help examine properties with redevelopment potential, including sites that may be contaminated or potentially contaminated.

What the grant provides

A brownfields assessment grant supports investigation and evaluation. It can help communities better understand environmental conditions at properties that may otherwise be difficult to reuse because of uncertainty about past activities or possible contamination.

For Scottsburg, the award creates access to that assessment support through River Hills. The available information does not identify which local properties may be reviewed, how many sites could be assessed or whether any particular parcel has been selected.

The award is an assessment grant, not a cleanup project. It does not establish that a specific Scottsburg property will be cleaned up, sold, developed or converted to another use. No construction start, final redevelopment decision, jobs figure, housing plan or private investment amount was documented in the reviewed material.

What residents can expect next

The practical next step supported by the announcement is environmental site assessment work in the three participating communities. Those assessments could reduce uncertainty around properties and help inform later redevelopment decisions, but the grant announcement does not provide a parcel-level list or a timetable for work in Scottsburg.

That distinction matters for residents, property owners and local businesses. The grant may help move potentially difficult properties toward future reuse, but it does not yet indicate a completed redevelopment project or a specific change to a site in the city.

Scottsburg is the seat of Scott County. The city’s official website lists municipal services including planning and zoning, streets and stormwater, utilities, police and fire, and identifies city offices at 821 S. Lake Road S. The approved materials do not document a city announcement naming a local project or a deadline for the assessments.

As of the July 7 announcement, the confirmed development is the regional grant award and Scottsburg’s inclusion in its assessment area. Further details about properties, assessment timing and any possible cleanup or redevelopment decisions were not available in the reviewed sources.