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 Brownfields  2007


  Grant  Fact  Sheet


   Ark-Tex Council of


        Governments,


  Southwest Arkansas


 and  Northeast Texas



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 Ark-Tex Council of Governments (ATCOG) was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
The ATCOG serves nine counties in northeast Texas
and one in southwest Arkansas (total population
311,562). The cities  in the region developed around
the railroads that supported the timber and agriculture
industries. With the decline in these industries, the
region was left with  abandoned and contaminated
parcels. There are more than 130 legal and illegal
closed landfills in the area, in addition to many
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the Ark-Tex Council of Govern-
 ments for a brownfields assessment grant.
 Petroleum grant funds will be used to inventory
 and characterize sites, conduct 15 to 20 Phase I
 and as many Phase II environmental site assess-
 ments as possible, and 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 6 Brownfields Team
 214-665-6780
 http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: Ark-Tex Council of Governments,
 TX
 903-832-8636

 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.
abandoned manufacturing and industrial facilities and
gas stations. There are 556 reports of leaking under-
ground storage tanks in the region. The ten counties
have an average unemployment rate of 18.3 percent
and a per capita income that is only 72 percent of the
national level. Assessment of the region's brownfields
will help make it possible for ATCOG to clean up the
properties, and provide a catalyst for redevelopment in
the downtown Texarkana areas. Redevelopment of
brownfields will spur economic development, create
jobs, and protect the health and environment of the
region's communities.
                                              Solid Waste and
                                              Emergency Response
                                              (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-07-008
                       May 2007
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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