HI
                           C3
  Brownfields  2004

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

 Urban Redevelopment

           Authority of

        Pittsburgh, PA



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

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment  grant.
The Hill District (population 2,246), located between
downtown Pittsburgh and the Oakland/University
neighborhood, is an island of blight between two
prosperous and economically vital areas of Pittsburgh
(population 334,563). The decline of the district was
accelerated by a large urban renewal project that
forced more than 1,500 families and 400 businesses to
relocate outside the community. Between 1990 and
2000, the district lost 18 percent of its population.
Approximately 76 percent of district residents are
  Assessment Grant
  $160,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the Urban Redevelopment
  Authority of Pittsburgh for a brownfields assess-
  ment grant. Grant funds will be used to investigate
  and assess a former gas station on Herron Avenue
  in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. Funds also will be
  used to support community involvement, investi-
  gate future land use options, develop cleanup and
  reuse plans, and investigate the deep coal mine
  that underlies the area.
  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 3 Brownfields Team
  215-814-3129
  http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

  Grant Recipient: Urban Redevelopment Authority
  of Pittsburgh, PA
  412-255-6554

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
minorities, and the poverty rate is 36 percent. Fifty-
seven percent of houses and buildings in the neighbor-
hood are built atop the Pittsburgh coal seam, and 90
percent of the structures are considered substandard.
The former gas station is a key Hill District site and
sits on a main thoroughfare at the intersection of three
avenues. Environmental assessment of this site is
expected to lay the groundwork for its reuse, as well
as for reuse of several adjacent sites.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                       EPA560-F-04-216
                       June 2004
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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