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  Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
            Oelwein,  I A
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 Oelwein was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants.  Oelwein (population
6,692) was founded in 1872 with the arrival of the
railroad. The railroad was the major employer of
Oelwein residents until the 1980s, when most of the
railroad business moved out of town, and hundreds of
jobs were lost. The city now is  characterized by a
median household income a little more than half the
state average, and a 12 percent poverty rate. Adding to
the city's difficulties are the numerous brownfields that
surround nearly half of Oelwein's commercial property
tax base. Longstanding neighborhoods also have been
adversely impacted by unsightly and frequently dusty
conditions created by these potentially environmentally
  Assessment Grants
   $200,000 for hazardous substances
   $200,000 for petroleum
   EPA has selected the City of Oelwein for two
   brownfields assessment grants. Grant funds will
   be used to perform Phase I and II site assess-
   ments, and conduct cleanup planning for proper-
   ties contaminated with hazardous substances and
   petroleum in the Redevelopment Project Area
   surrounding the downtown district. Funds will also
   be used for conducting community outreach
   activities, and identifying and monitoring risks to
   sensitive populations.
   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 7 Brownfields Team
  913-551-7646
  http://www.epa.gov/Region7/citizens/brownfields/
  index.htm

  Grant Recipient: City of Oelwein, IA
  319-283-5440

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
compromised sites. Residents of these areas have been
burdened by a higher proportion of environmental and
safety hazards than those in other parts of the commu-
nity. Abroad range of industrial sites are contaminated
with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, PCBs,
and pesticides. The city plans to develop an approach
for long-term maintenance and care of these proper-
ties, which will benefit residents by reducing the risk of
exposure to environmental contaminants in air, water,
and soil, and improve areas that have been a deterrent
to new investment and job creation.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-05-117
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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