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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Homestead, FL
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 Homestead was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Homestead (population
32,046) is located about 30 miles south of Miami. The
city's economic base is grounded in agriculture and
related businesses. The city's predominantly minority
population is 39 percent Hispanic or Latino and 22
percent African-American. In addition, there are
seasonal increases of primarily Latino migrant work-
ers. The unemployment rate in this federally designated
Empowerment Zone is 32 percent, and the median
household income is 69 percent of the state median.
The targeted cleanup property, in the heart of the
downtown Homestead commercial neighborhood, is the
last available site of its size in the area. Cleanup of this
Cleanup Grant
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$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Homestead for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
used to remediate the 2.4-acre former Florida
East Coast Railway corridor located in downtown
Homestead. Arsenic contamination in the soil and
groundwater is attributed to the use of pesticides
and herbicides applied to suppress plant growth
along the railroad tracks. The contamination poses
a threat to drinking water supplies in 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 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8684
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm
Grant Recipient: City of Homestead, FL
305-224-4481
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
property will remove a potential threat to local drinking
water supplies and facilitate the creation of over two
acres of downtown greenway space. The greenway
will afford easy access to the adjacent bus and future
metrorail stops, support outdoor community events, and
link bicycle and pedestrian trails to the Everglades
National Park and the Biscayne Bay National Park.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-082
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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