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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

             Oca/a,  FL


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 Ocala was selected to receive a brown-
fields assessment grant. Located in central Florida,
Ocala (population 49,000) was once a bustling center
of commerce. The Downtown and North Magnolia
Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs) were once
healthy communities with residential areas, neighbor-
hood businesses, and light industry. Since 1980, many
businesses have closed in the CRAs, leaving aban-
doned and underutilized facilities behind. Nearly 40
percent of West Ocala residents live at  or below the
poverty level, and the unemployment rate is greater
than 10 percent. While 29 percent of city residents are
minorities, 50 percent of West Ocala residents are
minorities. Many of the abandoned sites are perceived
to have mixed contamination plumes that may be
impacting area soils and groundwater. The Floridan
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Ocala for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to support
 community outreach activities and conduct Phase
 I and II environmental site assessments at sites in
 the Downtown and North Magnolia Community
 Redevelopment Areas and the West Ocala
 Historic District.
 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 4 Brownfields Team
 404-562-8866
 http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

 Grant Recipient: City of Ocala, FL
 352-629-3822

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Aquifer, located beneath the city, supplies 100 percent
of the potable water used within the city and Marion
County. Assessment and eventual cleanup of the city's
brownfields properties will remove the stigma associ-
ated with the sites and help preserve the city's and
county's source of drinking water. Once the environ-
mental issues are addressed, the city anticipates that
doors will open to redevelopment that will provide
local residents with amenities and jobs, and increase
tax revenues for the city.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-073
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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