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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Prairie du Chien, Wl
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 Prairie du Chien was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located along the
Mississippi River on Wisconsin's western border,
Prairie du Chien (population 5,735) is the second oldest
settlement in Wisconsin. The city's riverside location
and railroad access attracted industries such as a
woolen mill and canneries. These industries and
population growth eventually stagnated. Over the past
30 years, many factories and industrial operations
closed, and hundreds of jobs were lost. The city's per
capita income is 20 percent below the national aver-
age. The city is targeting sites in its historic riverfront
and downtown areas, including St. Feriole Island, for
brownfields assessment. These areas contain
underused and abandoned properties in blighted and
potentially contaminated condition. Brownfields
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Prairie du Chien for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to conduct 10 to
14 Phase I and four to eight Phase II environmen-
tal site assessments and to support community
involvement 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: City of Prairie du Chien, WI
608-326-8534
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.
assessments are expected to help the city leverage
funding for the cleanup of contaminated sites and
catalyze redevelopment.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-145
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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