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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Cuyahoga County, OH
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
Cuyahoga County was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants and a brownfields
revolving loan fund grant. Located in northern Ohio,
Cuyahoga County (population 1,314,241) is the largest
county in the state and includes a federally designated
Empowerment Zone in Cleveland's east side. During
the late 19th Century, hundreds of thousands of people
came to the county to work in Cleveland's industries,
which included the Standard Oil Company. Since 2000,
the county has experienced economic challenges and a
significant population loss. More than 45,000 manufac-
turing jobs disappeared from the county between 2000
and 2006. The county's poverty rate is 14.8 percent,
and 37 percent of residents are minorities. The closing
of factories and manufacturing plants has left behind
abandoned industrial properties and contaminated land.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Cuyahoga County for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to perform about
four to six Phase I and three to five Phase II
environmental site assessments throughout the
county. About 10 percent of grant funds will be
used to conduct assessments in East Cleveland.
Grant funds also will be used to support community
outreach activities. Petroleum grant funds will be
used to conduct the same tasks at sites with
potential petroleum contamination.
Revolving Loan Fund
Grant
$1,000,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Cuyahoga County for a
brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant
will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from
which Cuyahoga County will provide loans and
subgrants to support cleanup activities for sites
contaminated with hazardous substances. Grant
funds also will be used to market and operate the
revolving loan fund and support community in-
volvement activities, especially in East Cleveland.
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/R5 Brownfields
Grant Recipient: Cuyahoga County, OH
216-443-8064
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-133
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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There are an estimated 4,600 acres of brownfields in
the county and about 10,000 to 25,000 vacant and
abandoned properties in Cleveland alone. Assess-
ment of brownfields is expected to clarify concerns
about real or perceived environmental contamination
and leverage funds for redevelopment. The county
plans to redevelop brownfields cleaned up through
the RLF grant with clean manufacturing facilities.
The county also plans to reuse brownfields in East
Cleveland as community gardens and greenspace.
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 negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
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