5
               o
                            T>

  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Metropolis,  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 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

The City of Metropolis was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Metropolis (population
6,482) is located in southern Illinois across the Ohio
River from Paducah, Kentucky. It is a small city where
the median household income is 54 percent of the state
median, and the poverty rate is more than one-and-a-
half times the state rate. The city has a larger minority
population than the surrounding Massac County.
Metropolis is targeting the former Laidlaw site for
cleanup.  Contaminated groundwater from the site
flows into the Ohio River. The site, which is situated
across from low-income multi-family housing, includes
a cluster of deteriorating buildings behind a fence and
barbed wire. It is a highly visible eyesore between the
neighborhood and the scenic Ohio River and adjoining
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Metropolis for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
 grant funds will be used to clean up the former
 Laidlaw site at 1212 East Fifth Street. The site was
 used for nearly a century to manufacture wire
 clothes hangers and a variety of chemical cleaning
 products, including dry cleaning solvents. Site soil
 and groundwater are contaminated with metals,
 chlorinated solvents, and semi-volatile organic
 compounds.
 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 Metropolis, IL
 618-524-4016

 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.
state park. It detracts from the aesthetics and recre-
ational use of the river, and raises health and safety
concerns for area residents. Site cleanup is expected to
facilitate redevelopment, attract new businesses to the
community, and help revitalize the Metropolis riverfront
area.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-08-095
                         April 2008
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------