I 'O UJ O Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet Naco Fire District, AZ 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, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields RevitalizationAct. 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. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response pro- grams through a separate mechanism. Community Description The Naco Fire District was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Naco has a population of 748, of whom 75 percent are Hispanic. The unem- ployment rate is over 33 percent. Ninety-five percent of Naco school children qualify for the federal school lunch program. A portion of the site was previously used for cattle-dipping operations on livestock being imported into the U.S. from Mexico. The main cause of concern for the open land is that it was periodically inundated by raw sewage released from the neighbor- ing wastewater treatment plant in Sonora, Mexico. The assessment will determine if there is any residual contamination from these releases so development can go forward. The town has no public parks or recreation Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Naco Fire District for a brownfields assessment grant. The grant will be used to perform Phase I and Phase II environ- mental assessments of the Naco brownfields site, a parcel of land owned by Cochise County that lies to the east of the city. Also included in the grant are funds for community outreach. 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 415-972-3188 http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/ Grant Recipient: Naco Fire District, AZ 520-432-7040 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. areas. The brownfields site has been designated a light industrial and commercial area with a provision for greenspace between the town and the commercial area. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-04-238 June 2004 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |