Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Tri-City Regional Port District, Southwestern Illinois

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Tri-City Regional Port District for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to inventory brownfield sites in the Route 3 Corridor, conduct about ten Phase I and at least five Phase II environmental site assessments, and support community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Tri-City Regional Port District was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in southwestern Illinois, the District will focus its brownfields efforts on the Route 3 Corridor. This corridor parallels the Mississippi River and includes the Cities of Venice, Madison, and Granite City, and the Townships of Chouteau and Nameoki (combined population 39,000). The target area has been highly industrialized since the late 1800s and includes steel mills, wood treatment plants, and chemical plants. In the last 50 years, many industries in the corridor have abandoned local operations. The decline of industry has resulted in job loss, population decline, and brownfields. The average per capita income for communities in the target area is $14,000, and 25 percent of residents live in poverty. Brownfields assessment is expected to make sites more marketable and provide incentives for developers to consider properties for redevelopment. Eventual brownfields redevelopment is anticipated to expand local tax bases, create jobs, and increase property values.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Grant Recipient: Tri-City Regional Port District, IL
618-877-8444

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.