The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded grants totaling $3.8 million to 19 U.S. communities in 18 states to plan rehabilitation of brown­fields, the agency said on Jan. 5. Each will receive up to $200,000 for improvements, such as housing and recreation on the sites. The so-called Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program is set to improve property value and quality of life for the often low-income communities that surround the former industrial sites.