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  Brownfields  2008


  Grant Fact Sheet


    Northern Mariana


    Islands  Division  of


       Environmental


               Quality



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

The Northern Mariana Islands Division of Environ-
mental Quality was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. The Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (CNMI) (population 69,221) is a self-
governing U.S. commonwealth consisting of 14
islands with a total land area of 183.5 square miles.
Since becoming a commonwealth in 1976, the CNMI
has experienced a population boom. Growth in the
garment industries created a demand for guest labor.
Today, more than 56 percent of CNMI residents are
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances

 EPA has selected the Northern Mariana Islands
 Division of Environmental Quality for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to conduct 20
 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site
 assessments and to support community outreach
 activities on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and
 Rota.
 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 9 Brownfields Team
 415-972-3091
 http://www.epa.gov/region9/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: Northern Mariana Islands
 Division of Environmental Quality
 670-664-8500

 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.
non-U.S. citizens. According to the 2000 Census, the
CNMI's per capita income is $9,151, and 46 percent of
CNMI residents live below the poverty level.
Brownfields on the islands include former garment
factories, dry cleaners, and heavy equipment facilities.
There also are a number of sites contaminated by
historic military operations, many of which are
abandoned or idle. Brownfields assessment will
provide information that is expected to be instrumental
in determining site reuse and help preserve the highly
valuable, limited land resources on the islands.
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-08-200
                       April 2008
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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