30 o o Brownfields 2QQ5 Grant Fact Sheet Kitsap County, WA 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 Kitsap County was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant and a brownfields cleanup grant. Kitsap County is the second most populous county in Washington with 239,500 residents, and is six miles from marine waters, which forces development along sensitive marine and riparian shorelines. Historically, the county's economic base has been the U.S. Navy. In the past 15 years, the changing mission of the Navy has resulted in the loss of over 10,000 jobs. The county's population has more than doubled in the last 25 years. This rapid growth has out-paced land and growth management programs, resulting in numerous potentially contaminated sites being overlooked for the sake of cheaper and easier development. There also Assessment Grant $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected Kitsap County for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to inventory and prioritize sites with leaking underground storage tanks, perform up to ten Phase I site assessments and up to five Phase II site assessments, conduct community outreach activities, and develop redevelopment plans. The county contains at least 79 leaking underground storage tank sites, with the potential for more unlisted sites. Cleanup Grant 120051 $200,000 for hazardous substance's EPA has selected Kitsap County for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Port Orchard Sand and Gravel Concrete Batch Plant located on state Route 3 in Gorst. The site operated as a concrete processing and transfer facility for over 30 years along an estuary shoreline, and over two acres are contaminated with arsenic, pentachlorophenol, and organic contaminants. Grant funds will be used to support cleanup design and activities, and 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 10 Brownfields Team 206-553-2100 http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth, click on "Superfund", scroll down and click on "Brownfields" Grant Recipient: Kitsap County, WA 360-337-7181 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA560-F-05-161 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- are a number of abandoned commercial and industrial The cooperative agreement for this grant has not properties scattered throughout the county, including at least 79 leaking underground storage tank sites. yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described Redevelopment of these sites will improve the aes- Ms fact sheet ^ subJect to chan§e' thetic and economic health of existing commercial areas, reduce the need to expand developed areas, and stimulate new businesses at target locations. The target cleanup site is a concrete batch plant in Gorst, a small, depressed rural community at the head of the Sinclair Inlet. Today, the unemployment rate in Gorst is 33 percent, and more than 40 percent of families receive some form of public assistance. Following the cleanup of the target site, the county plans to restore the native estuarine habitat and establish a portion of the Kitsap County Mosquito Fleet Trail as part of a 130-acre estuary-wide restoration program. ------- |