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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Lake wood, CO
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. Abrownfield 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
The City of Lakewood was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Lakewood, located on
the western edge of the Denver metropolitan area, is
home to 144,150 residents. The city's early develop-
ment was spurred by West Colfax Avenue and the
Denver, Lakewood and Golden (DL&G) rail line.
Interstate construction in the 1960s eliminated the
DL&G line as a significant transportation route. The
decline of these transportation links has left a legacy of
deteriorating industrial and commercial districts on the
once prominent mile-wide transit corridor. The corridor,
which accounts for 45 percent of the city, encom-
passes four residential neighborhoods. Ten percent of
residents in these neighborhoods live below the poverty
Assessment Grants
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$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Lakewood for two
brownfields assessment grants. Grant funds will
be used to support community outreach and
education, conduct Phase I and II environmental
site assessments, prepare risk assessments, and
develop cleanup plans for sites contaminated with
hazardous substances along the Denver, Lake-
wood and Golden (DL&G) transit-oriented
development corridor of Lakewood. The rail line,
established in 1 89 1 , ran its last freight train in
1988. Petroleum funds will be used to perform the
same tasks at sites along the corridor with
potential petroleum contamination.
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 8 Brownfields Team
303-312-6803
http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/
bfhome.html
Grant Recipient: City of Lakewood, CO
303-987-7192
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
level. Although 15 percent of residents are Hispanic,
the percentage jumps to 45 percent in pockets adjacent
to the corridor. The city plans to update the aging
freight rail corridor with light rail transit, which would
enable redevelopment to occur at the same time the
metro Denver region undertakes a major transportation
upgrade. Brownfields assessment is key to removing
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-05-125
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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barriers to new development that will support the new
light rail transit corridor. Redevelopment is expected to
revitalize the Lakewood community by expanding its
retail and commercial tax base and creating new
employment centers.
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