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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

          Cohoes,  NY


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 Cohoes was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Cohoes (population
15,521) is located in the northeastern portion of
Albany County at the confluence of the Mohawk and
Hudson Rivers. Founded in the 1700s as a Dutch
farming community, the city was transformed into an
industrial center in the 1800s because of its proximity
to the Hudson River and Erie Canal, which allowed
efficient transportation, and the Mohawk River, which
provided water power. The majority of local industry
was related to textile manufacturing. As the textile
factories became obsolete or non-competitive, the
waterfronts and the main gateway to the city's down-
town business district were abandoned, leaving behind
vacant and underutilized properties and the threat of
contamination. At the same time, Cohoes' population
  Assessment Grants
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  $200,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the City of Cohoes for two
  brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
  substances grant funds will be used to conduct
  community outreach activities, perform up to four
  Phase I and up to three Phase II environmental
  site assessments, and develop end-use and
  cleanup design plans for sites in two targeted
  areas of the city, the main routes of access to the
  downtown business district and the waterfronts
  along the city's two rivers. Petroleum funding
  will be used to perform the same tasks at sites
  with potential petroleum contamination.
  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 2 Brownfields Team
  212-637-4314
  http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/
  brownfields/

  Grant Recipient: City of Cohoes, NY
  518-233-2118

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
declined, further impacting the tax base, jobs, business
development, and housing. More than 30 percent of the
residents who remained in the neighborhoods around
the waterfronts and the main routes accessing down-
town live at or below the poverty level. Redevelopment
of the sites along the waterfronts for recreational,
residential, and appropriate commercial use will result
in one of the premier waterfronts in the Albany region.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                          EPA 560-F-06-039
                          May 2006
                          www.epa.gov/brownfields

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Brownfields redevelopment will help protect human
health and the environment, increase the local tax base.
and facilitate job creation in the region.

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