^
                            o
  Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
       Philadelphia, PA
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, 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 Philadelphia was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Philadelphia (population
1,517,550), a federally designated Empowerment Zone
and Renewal Community, is the fifth largest city in the
United States. It sits at the confluence of the Delaware
and Schuylkill Rivers. Both rivers played significant
roles in the industrial and commercial history of the
city. Today, the city faces the legacy of its 19th Century
industrial development and the 20th Century decline of
many of these industries. The riverfronts include
significant brownfields sites, including scrap yards and
solid waste  distribution facilities. Many of these sites
are abandoned eyesores that border on low-income
neighborhoods. Nearly 23 percent of Philadelphia
   Assessment Grant
   $200,000 for petroleum

   EPA has selected the City of Philadelphia for a
   brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
   used to conduct Phase I and Phase II environ-
   mental site assessments on parcels of land that lie
   within the River City Initiative. This initiative
   focuses on the revitalization of the Philadelphia
   waterfronts along the Schuylkill and Delaware
   Rivers. Ten percent of the funds are reserved for
   assessment projects that will result in the creation
   of greenspace.
   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 3 Brownfields Team
  215-814-3129
  http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

  Grant Recipient: City of Philadelphia, PA
  215-683-2028

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are  subject to change.
residents fall below the poverty level and more than 50
percent are minority. Environmental site assessments
will provide the city with the information and tools to
help address health concerns about the sites and act as
an incentive to redevelop blighted areas of the city.
Assessment of the underutilized and abandoned sites
around the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers will help the
city with its River City Initiative, an ongoing effort to
redevelop the area to include more desirable residential
and commercial facilities, along with greenspace,
thereby improving the quality of life for area residents.
                                                   Solid Waste and
                                                   Emergency Response
                                                   (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-05-078
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------