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  Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
             Bath,  ME
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 Bath was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Bath (population 9,266), on the
shores of the Kennebec River, is the county seat and
only urban area in Sagadahoc County. Although only 28
percent of county households are in Bath, the city
accounts for 43 percent of county households that
receive public assistance. Thirty-six percent of county
residents who have incomes below the poverty level
live in Bath. Many of the residents of the waterfront
target area are low-income, and more than 25 percent
are senior citizens. The waterfront, traditionally the
home of Bath's industry, has many abandoned and
deteriorated properties. A preliminary inventory of
brownfields sites completed in Spring 2004 identified 45
  Assessment Grant    (20051
   $200,000 for hazardous substances
   EPA has selected the City of Bath for a
   brownfields assessment grant. The grant will be
   used to sustain Bath's established brownfields
   community outreach program, update its inventory
   of brownfields, conduct additional Phase I and
   Phase II environmental assessments, and develop
   final remedial action and reuse plans.
   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 1 Brownfields Team
  617-918-1221
  http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: City of Bath, ME
  207-443-8372

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
sites within the downtown and waterfront area. All of
these sites are in prime locations, and all sit idle.
Cleanup and redevelopment of the waterfront sites will
reduce the threat of contamination to the Kennebec
River, which is crucial to the economic and recreational
life of the city; reclaim the waterfront; preserve the
city's shipbuilding history; and help balance the needs
outlined in the city's action plan for a transportation
hub, recreational access, housing, and economic
development.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-05-021
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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