5
              o
                          T>

 Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Kansas  Department

        of Health  and

Environment,  Wichita,

                  KS


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 Kansas Department of Health and Environment
was selected to receive a brownfields assessment
grant. On behalf of Wichita (population 344,284)
located in south central Kansas, the state will help
assess brownfields in a project area that includes a
significant number of Wichita's older industrial sites,
including a refinery. Previous inventories have identi-
fied over 100 parcels in the project area. The aircraft
manufacturing sector was Wichita's economic engine
                                                                          \
 Assessment  Grant
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the Kansas Department of
 Health and Environment for a brownfields
 assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be
 used to conduct Phase I and II environmental site
 assessments on properties in Wichita's 21st Street
 North Corridor and community outreach and
 coordination.
 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 7 Brownfields Team
 800-223-0425
 http://www.epa.gov/Region7/citizens/brownfields/
 index.htm

 Grant Recipient: Kansas Department of Health and
 Environment, KS
 785-291-3246

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
until 1998 when manufacturing dramatically slowed.
Between 2001 and 2003, over 14,000 manufacturing
jobs were lost in the Wichita area, and in one year
alone, the city's unemployment rate rose 54 percent. In
2000, the median family income was 31 percent less
than other Wichita areas. Minorities, predominantly
Hispanics, represent 59 percent of the population in the
project area. Exiting businesses have left behind vacant
and underused properties. Although environmental
conditions on many sites are unknown, trichloroethene,
vinyl chloride, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, and other
volatile organic compounds are known to be present on
many sites. After existing contamination is addressed,
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-06-158
                        May 2006
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------
these sites will be reused for light industry, a transpor-
tation hub, and open space that supports local cultural
activities. Brownfields redevelopment will remove
environmental hazards, promote smart growth, create
greenspace, generate new jobs, and help retain popula-
tion.

-------