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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

         Kenosha,  Wl


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 Kenosha was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in the southeast
corner of Wisconsin, Kenosha (population 93,798) has
a long history of heavy manufacturing, with a concen-
tration of automotive, tool production, and metal
processing industries. Following the early 1980s
recession, a sizeable part of this industrial base closed
or down-sized. As of September 2005, Kenosha had
the fifth highest unemployment rate in the state, and its
poverty rate is 9.5 percent. Its manufacturing history
has led to abandoned factory sites with blighted and
dilapidated buildings or vacant lots, including 365
brownfields. Many of the larger brownfields sites are
grouped in clusters, which are typically surrounded by
residential properties. These areas are economically
stressed, and many of the residences mirror the poor
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the City of Kenosha for a
  brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
  funds will be used to conduct community out-
  reach, inventory sites, and perform Phase I and II
  environmental site assessments.
  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: City of Kenosha, WI
  262-653-4055

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
condition of the abandoned industrial sites. Brownfields
redevelopment will help Kenosha move from heavy
manufacturing to a more high-tech, service-oriented
economy. It will build the tax base, create jobs, increase
property values, and create greenspace.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                          EPA560-F-06-137
                          May 2006
                          www.epa.gov/brownfields

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