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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

       Rock Island,  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 City of Rock Island was selected to receive  two
brownfields assessment grants. Rock Island (popula-
tion 39,684) is located in western Illinois along the
Mississippi River. The city has identified 48
brownfields ranging from small city lots to large
industrial complexes. Twenty-two of these are petro-
leum sites. More than 70 percent of the brownfields
sites are in two census tracts that represent the city's
oldest and poorest neighborhoods. The poverty rates in
these tracts are 23.6  and 38 percent, as compared to
10.7 percent statewide. Over 70 percent of the resi-
dents in these two census tracts are minorities, and the
median household incomes are 37 and 51 percent of
the state's median income. Assessment and eventual
cleanup of the sites will eliminate neighborhood blight
and help protect the  environment, including the
 Assessment  Grants
 $100,000 for hazardous substances
 $100,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of Rock Island for two
 brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
 substances and petroleum grant funds will be
 used to conduct community outreach activities,
 perform Phase I and II environmental site assess-
 ments on properties identified in the city's
 brownfields database, and develop cleanup plans
 for sites within 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 5 Brownfields Team
 312-886-7576
 http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

 Grant Recipient: City of Rock Island, IL
 309-732-2920

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Mississippi River, a source of drinking water for the
city. The city will offer tax incentives to brownfields
developers and has re-zoned several abandoned indus-
trial areas, especially along the riverfront. Redevelop-
ment will attract private investment, create jobs,
increase tax revenues, and add greenspace to Rock
Island.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-097
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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