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 Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
   Independence, MO
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 Independence  was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Independence (popula-
tion 113,288) is a town with a rich history from the
days of the frontier trails, through the Civil War, and as
the home of President Harry Truman and the Truman
Presidential Library. It is also a city with an urban core
dotted with vacant lots and blighted, abandoned
structures, and an aging and increasingly low-to-
moderate income population. Brownfields are contrib-
uting to the  deterioration of the neighborhood and
general disinvestment in the area. They pose potential
health risks to the community and represent lost tax
revenues needed to provide services to the residents of
the area. Assessment of brownfields sites will allow
                                                                     V.
  Assessment Grant
^2005/j
  rji<*
   $25,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the City of Independence for a
  brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
  used to conduct community outreach activities,
  inventory and select sites, and perform three
  Phase I environmental site assessments on sites in
  the city's urban core.
   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 7 Brownfields Team
  913-551-7646
  http://www.epa.gov/Region7/citizens/brownfields/
  index.htm

  Grant Recipient: City of Independence, MO
  816-325-7397

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
the city to move forward with its vision to promote a
vibrant downtown area in a manner that will reduce
pollution and resource consumption and promote
economic revitalization. This revitalization is expected
to bring new jobs and an increase in tourism and retail
shopping in the area.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-05-122
                        May 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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