5
              o
                            T>

  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

  Malheur County,  OR


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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.

Community Description

Malheur County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in eastern Oregon near the
Idaho border, Malheur County (population 31,725) is
one of the state's economically distressed areas. The
targeted General Farm Supply Service Station site is
located in the City of Nyssa (population 3,220), where
about 23 percent of residents live below the poverty
level and more than 38 percent are Hispanic. This
small community contains about 15 known brownfield
sites, most of which  are former service stations and
petroleum bulk storage facilities. Six of these sites,
including the former General Farm Supply Service
Station, are located along Main Street, which is a state
highway and the most traveled road in Nyssa. Assess-
ment of the target site is expected to help define the
extent of contamination so the site can eventually be
 Assessment Grant
 $150,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected Malheur County for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
 funds will be used to assess the former General
 Farm Supply Service Station site at 312 Main
 Street in the City of Nyssa. The site was used as a
 service station from at least 1949 to about 1990,
 and now is a vacant lot. Site soil and groundwater
 are contaminated with petroleum products. Grant
 funds will be used to determine the extent of
 contamination at the site and support community
 involvement 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
 206-553-7299
 http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/bf

 Grant Recipient: Malheur County, OR
 541-473-5501

 The information presented in this fact sheet comes
 from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
 accuracy of this information. The cooperative
 agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
cleaned up, and this prime commercial location can be
returned to the county tax rolls.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-202
                        April 2008
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------