HI
                           C3
  Brownfields  2004

  Grant  Fact Sheet


  Public Health Seattle

    & King  County,  WA



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, the President
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 pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

Public Health Seattle & King County were selected to
receive  a brownfields assessment grant. Located on
Puget Sound in western Washington state, King County
covers more than 2,200 square miles, making it nearly
twice as large as the average county in the United States.
With a population of 1,737,034, King County and the City
of Seattle have witnessed a dramatic increase in the
scourge of makeshift drug labs in the past decade.
PHSKC's response to illegal drug labs, often set up in
houses, motel rooms, garages, sheds, and other structures,
has grown at a rate of about two per week, from fewer
than 10 in 1995, to more than 100 in 2003. Seattle and
King County are culturally diverse, with Hispanics and
   Assessment Grant
   $200,000 for hazardous substances

   EPA has selected Public Health Seattle & King
   County (PHSKC) for a brownfields assessment
   grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be
   used to help increase PHSKC's ability to provide
   prompt and complete assessments of illegal
   methamphetamine drug laboratories. The produc-
   tion of methamphetamine involves a variety of
   highly toxic, corrosive, and explosive chemicals.
   The grant is expected to cover the assessment of
   about 200 labs over a two-year period.
   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 10 Brownfields Team
   206-553-2100
   www.epa.gov/rlOearth, click on "Superfund,"
   scroll down to "Related Programs" and click on
   "Brownfields"

   Grant Recipient: Public Health Seattle & King
   County, WA
   206-296-4806

   The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
   yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
   in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Pacific Islanders constituting the fastest growing ethnic
groups. Languages other than English are spoken in more
than 18 percent of homes in King County. Seattle has a
federally designated Enterprise Community that includes
the Duwamish Industrial Corridor, Central District, Rainier
Valley, International District, and parts of downtown.
Contamination resulting from methamphetamine drug lab
activities has negative social, economic, and environmental
impacts that the PHSKC hopes to mitigate using funds
from this assessment grant.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-04-086
                         June 2004
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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