3 SB o Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, CO 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 Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Oil and Public Safety was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Abandoned and underused petroleum-contaminated properties are a common sight in almost every community throughout the State of Colorado (population 4.5 million). Currently there are more than 1,200 contaminated sites being remediated by responsible parties and approximately 80 are being remediated by the state using federal leaking underground storage tank (LUST) trust fund and state monies. Despite this progress, the state has not been able to commit resources to identifying, investigating, and remediating low-priority abandoned petroleum sites. Assessment Grant $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Oil and Public Safety for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to identify, prioritize, and assess potential brownfields, and develop cleanup and reuse plans for low-priority petroleum-contami- nated sites throughout the State of Colorado. Funds also will be used to conduct stakeholder meetings and to establish the level of effort needed to redevelop or revitalize individual sites. 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 8 Brownfields Team 303-312-6803 http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/ bfhome.html Grant Recipient: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment 303-318-8530 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Many of these sites are abandoned, small neighborhood service stations that have been replaced by high-volume retail outlets. Many are eyesores located in low-income neighborhoods where residents can be exposed to contaminants. Assessment and cleanup of the sites will help eliminate potential health and environmental risks, remove a stigma from affected communities, and increase local property values. Redevelopment will add new business and employment opportunities that will, in turn, add revenues to the local tax base. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-05-224 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |