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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

          Pearsall,  TX


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 Pearsall was selected to receive a brown-
fields assessment grant. Located in south Texas,
Pearsall (population 7,157) is a farming and ranching
community founded when the railroad arrived in 1881.
Hispanics represent  84.2 percent of the population,
and 35 percent of residents live below the poverty
level. The unemployment rate is 7.7 percent. Assess-
ment activities will focus on the westside area. Inter-
spersed in the westside area are nine petroleum-
contaminated sites and ten abandoned businesses, of
which nine housed agricultural chemicals, such as
pesticides, and repair shops. The city's brownfields
stifle local investment, lower property values, may
pose environmental hazards, and facilitate illegal
activity. When brownfields are assessed and eventually
cleaned up, the community will create indoor and
 Assessment Grant
 $197,600 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of Pearsall for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
 funds will be used to conduct two Phase I and
 eight Phase II environmental site assessments, a
 community health assessment that involves
 monitoring environmental health effects, and
 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 6 Brownfields Team
 214-665-2241
 http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: City of Pearsall, TX
 830-334-3676

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
outdoor recreational facilities and preserve greenspace.
Brownfields redevelopment will expand the tax base,
increase investments, and create jobs.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-06-152
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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