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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact Sheet

    Sftetoy County   TA/


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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.

Community Description

Shelby County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in southwestern Tennessee,
Shelby County (population 897,472) is targeting the
abandoned CSX Railroad Corridor (population 119,828)
for brownfields assessment. Residential development is
dense along the edges of portions of the corridor, which
has become a dumping ground for household and
industrial debris. Over 80 years of railroad operations
have added to the contamination of the corridor. The
county's poverty rate is the highest among the most
populous counties in the state and exceeds 18 percent.
Shelby County plans to redevelop the corridor as a
rails-to-trails greenspace and landscaped park for
county residents to use for walking, bicycling, and other
recreational purposes. Assessment of the target site is
expected to expedite cleanup and creation of the park.
Assessment Grant
$347,080 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Shelby County for a brownfields
assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant
funds will be used to conduct a Phase II environ-
mental site assessment along the 13.3-mile-long,
100-foot-wide, abandoned CSX Railroad Corridor
that runs from Lenow Road in Cordova to Avery
Road in Memphis. Grant funds also will be used to
support 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 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8792
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf

Grant Recipient: Shelby County, TN
901-545-4576

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.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-08-091
                        April 2008
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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