I 'O UJ O Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 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 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was selected to receive a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. Wisconsin (population 5,363,676), a predomi- nantly rural state, has only three cities where the population exceeds 100,000. The state's population is 11.3 percent minority, and approximately 12.2 percent of the state's families with children under five years of age live in poverty. Over the last two decades of the 20th century, Wisconsin lost one-third of its wage and salary worker base. Between 1993 to 2003, there were Revolving Loan Fund Grant $3,000,000 for hazardous substances $1,000,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant will be used to capital- ize a revolving loan fund, from which the depart- ment will provide loans and subgrants to communi- ties and tribes within the state to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. The grant will provide funding for the cleanup of 12 to 20 brownfields over the next two to five years. 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: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 608-267-6713 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. more than 1,200 significant plant closings in Wisconsin. This industrial legacy left the state with PCB advisories for 49 surface water bodies and a state-wide mercury advisory. The revolving loan funds will be directed toward greenspace projects and to jumpstart private investment in economic development projects, espe- cially in high unemployment areas and along the waterfronts. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-04-224 June 2004 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |