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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Anderson, 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
The City of Anderson was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in east-central
Indiana, Anderson (population 59,734) developed as a
rail transportation hub in the mid-1800s with the
arrival of the Indianapolis Bellafontaine Railroad. The
city's population and economy exploded when manu-
facturers and other industrial and commercial opera-
tions opened. In 1918, General Motors opened a
division headquarters in Anderson, making the city
one of the leading electromechanical technology
centers in the world. When this division reached its
peak in the early 1970s, it had 27,000 employees in
Anderson. Shortly thereafter, the number of jobs and
the population of the city began to steadily decline. By
2000, Anderson lost more than 15 percent of its
residents. Although the official poverty rate for
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Anderson for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to inventory and
prioritize brownfields, perform approximately
four Phase I and Phase II environmental site
assessments, and prepare cleanup plans for
brownfields around the city. Funds also will be
used to conduct community involvement activi-
ties and human health risk evaluations.
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 Anderson, IN
765-648-6097
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Anderson is 13.4 percent, more than 35 census tracts
within the city have poverty rates ranging from 72 to
91 percent. The unemployment rate is significantly
higher than the national rate. Since Anderson's indus-
tries never were centralized in any one corridor or area
of the city, its industrial properties are scattered
throughout the community. Many of these brownfields
are located next to residential neighborhoods, day care
centers, parks, and senior housing facilities. More than
100 brownfields sites were preliminarily identified
throughout the city. Areas of the city with higher
poverty rates correlate with the locations of Anderson's
largest brownfield areas. Redevelopment of the city's
brownfields is expected to raise the quality of life for
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-06-099
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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residents by creating new jobs and stimulating eco-
nomic growth, while helping to bring a sense of
community pride back to Anderson's neighborhoods.
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