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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

           Robbins,  IL


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 Village of Robbins was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Robbins (population
6,635) is a 1.5-square-mile village approximately 20
miles south of the City of Chicago. Incorporated in
1917, it is one of the earliest communities in the
United States founded by and for African-Americans.
In recent decades, the village has been challenged to
maintain its historic standard of living and sense of
community. Since 1980, the village has lost 27 percent
of its population. According to the 2000 U.S. Census,
more than 95 percent of the population is African-
American, and 35.5 percent of residents live below the
poverty level. Forty-one percent of the  households in
Robbins are female-headed, and 48.8 percent of these
households live below the poverty level. More than
half of the parcels in Robbins are either owned by the
 Assessment  Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Village of Robbins for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to conduct six
 Phase I and four Phase II environmental site
 assessments throughout the village. Grant funds
 also will be used to perform community outreach
 activities.
 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: Village of Robbins, IL
 708-385-8940

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
village or are tax-delinquent and vacant. Through a
county tax reactivation program, the village has ac-
quired more than 1,300 properties, many of which are
brownfields sites. Assessment, cleanup, and redevelop-
ment of the village's brownfields properties will
generate jobs in the area and help the community meet
its objectives of creating and expanding business
opportunities, and enhancing recreational and
greenspace resources in Robbins.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-095
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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