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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Elkhart County, 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 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
Elkhart County was selected to receive two brown-
fields assessment grants. Elkhart (population 191,768)
is located in northern Indiana, approximately 150
miles north of the City of Indianapolis. The county is
heavily dependent on the manufacturing sector, which
provides 41.4 percent of the jobs and 57.1 percent of
the income for Elkhart County residents. Brownfields
have had a significant impact on the county. There are
1,000 sites within the county that may be contami-
nated. The population of Elkhart County increased by
approximately 23 percent between 1990 and 2004.
More than 50 percent of the increase was in the
Hispanic/Latino community, which now constitutes
nearly 12 percent of county's population, compared to
only 4.3 percent of the state's population. A dispropor-
tionate number of these minority residents live in older
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Elkhart County for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to create and
prioritize a brownfields inventory, perform ten to
15 Phase I and three to five Phase II environmen-
tal site assessments, and conduct community
outreach throughout the county. Petroleum grant
funds will be used to perform the same tasks for
sites with potential petroleum contamination.
Contact
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: Elkhart County, IN
574-875-3341
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
residential neighborhoods within or adjacent to the
industrial areas where many brownfields properties are
situated. Assessment and eventual cleanup of brown-
fields properties will help reduce exposure to contami-
nants, eliminate unsafe structures and blight that harm
the image of neighborhoods, and preserve the county's
productive farmlands. Redevelopment is expected to
create more viable neighborhoods and commercial
corridors, expand tax and employment bases, and make
the county a more attractive place to live, work, and
raise families.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-06-100
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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