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 Brownfields  2003

 Grant  Fact Sheet


   Passaic  County,  NJ



EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

Passaic County was selected to receive an assessment
grant. Passaic County (population 489,000) includes 16
municipalities. Fifteen of these have populations under
100,000. Two municipalities with poverty levels ex-
ceeding 21 percent are in state-designated Enterprise
Zones. No systematic  inventory of brownfields sites
has been compiled in the county, but the state has
estimated that Passaic County contains more than 600
potentially contaminated sites, primarily in the county's
older industrial cities.  The county has created a
Brownfields Commission with broad representation to
guide its brownfields program. The identification and
assessment of brownfields will promote economic
activity on properties currently outside the tax base and
will minimize public health concerns associated with
contaminated sites.
                                 Assessment Grant
                                 $200,000 for hazardous substances
                                 EPA has selected Passaic County for a
                                 brownfields assessment grant. The county plans
                                 to inventory brownfield sites within its 16 munici-
                                 palities that are contaminated with hazardous
                                 substances, conduct assessments at abandoned
                                 sites, and involve the community in land-use
                                 decisions and sustainable redevelopment planning.
                                 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 2 Brownfields Team
                                 212-637-4314
                                 http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/
                                 brownfields/

                                 Grant Recipient: Passaic County, NJ
                                 973-881-4427

                                 Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, Passaic
                                 County has not received brownfields grant funding.

                                 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
                                 negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
                                 are subject to change.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                                                       EPA500-F-03-158
                                                       June 2003
                                                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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