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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact Sheet

          Harlem,   GA


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 Harlem was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Harlem (population
1,814) is a rural community on the outskirts of the
Augusta, Georgia, metropolitan area. Between 1990
and 2000,  the city experienced a 17.5 percent decline
in population while the surrounding county's popula-
tion increased by more than 35 percent. The percent-
age of Harlem residents living below the poverty level
is more than three times that of the county's, and the
median household income is only 55 percent of the
county median. Many of the city's brownfields are
abandoned properties that were used for industrial or
commercial purposes, including gas stations and a
large textile mill. Most are located on rural roads or
within the main corridor of Harlem. Because there are
greenfield sites available in the area, brownfields are
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of Harlem for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
 funds will be used to perform Phase I and II
 environmental site assessments, and conduct
 health monitoring of citizens in and around
 selected sites throughout the city.
 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 4 Brownfields Team
 404-562-8792
 http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

 Grant Recipient: City of Harlem, GA
 706-556-0043

 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 negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
often overlooked. Assessment of the city's brownfields
will increase the marketability of these properties, and
help remove blight. Brownfields redevelopment will
remove health threats to the community, create jobs,
and increase tax revenues.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-069
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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