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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Richmond,  IN


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 City of Richmond was selected to receive a
brownfields  cleanup grant. Located along the Ohio
border about 80 miles east of Indianapolis, Richmond
(population 39,124) has been experiencing a decline in
population that started in about 1990. Within the past
three years, the city has lost at least 500 jobs as a
result of industry relocation. More than 56 percent of
city residents earn low-to-moderate incomes, and the
citywide poverty rate is nearly 16 percent. The city has
about eight brownfields, including railroad properties,
manufacturing sites, and scrap and salvage yards.
Richmond plans to clean up the Indiana Gas Building, a
site listed on National Register of Historic Places. It is
strategically located in the Whitewater Valley Gorge,
blocking the completion of a sector of the Gorge Trail.
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Richmond for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
 grant funds will be used to clean up the 1.4-acre
 Indiana Gas Building of the Whitewater Valley
 Gorge at 16 East Main Street. The site was used
 from about 1855 until about 1941 to manufacture
 gas. It is contaminated with cyanide, polynuclear
 aromatic hydrocarbons, and benzene. Grant funds
 also will be used to conduct sampling and oversight,
 and to support community outreach 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 5 Brownfields Team
 312-886-7576
 http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields

 Grant Recipient: City of Richmond, IN
 765-983-7222

 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.
Contamination at the site is a health hazard and a
barrier to development. Cleanup of the site is expected
to lead to the creation of greenspace, and make way
for the completion of another section of the trail that
will connect to the 70-mile-long Cardinal Greenway
Trail.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-08-103
                         April 2008
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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