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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Houston, TX
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 Houston was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Houston (population
1,953,631) has a minority population that exceeds 67
percent. A 20-square-mile portion of the city is a
federally designated Enhanced Enterprise Community.
Houston has thousands of manufacturing facilities,
industrial plants, and businesses that support the
chemical and petroleum industries. These include
chemical plants, refineries, oil fields, and a transporta-
tion system consisting of rail lines, rail yards, truck
depots, pipelines, and pipeline terminals. A history of
poor handling and disposal practices at these facilities
created hundreds of brownfields. The city is home to
37 federal Superfund sites, 2,717 leaking underground
-
Assessment Grants (2005}]
<
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Houston for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct
Phase I and II site assessments, develop cleanup
plans, and compile a site inventory throughout the
city, which is estimated to have from 500 to
several thousand brownfield sites. Petroleum
grant funds will be used to perform the same
tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamina-
tion. Houston has 6,603 registered petroleum
storage tanks and 2,717 leaking petroleum storage
tank sites. There also are numerous active and
abandoned oil fields and miles of pipelines. Funds
also will be used to conduct community outreach
activities.
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 6 Brownfields Team
214-665-6736
http://www.epa.gov/earthlr6/6sf/bfpages/
sfbfhome.htm
Grant Recipient: City of Houston, TX
713-837-9020
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
storage tank sites, 85 unpermitted closed landfills, and
1,374 registered closed service stations. In addition, the
population exceeds the state and national percentages
of children under the age of five, adults without a high
school diploma, people with disabilities, and residents
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-05-113
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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living below the poverty line. Brownfields redevelop-
ment will have a positive impact on property values,
generate tax revenues, create jobs and greenspace,
leverage additional redevelopment investment, and
improve the quality of life for city residents.
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