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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant Fact Sheet

  Association  of  South

    Central Oklahoma

         Governments


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 Association of South Central Oklahoma Govern-
ments (ASCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. ASCOG represents a consortium of
eight counties, 72 communities, and ten conservation
districts with a combined population of 284,303. The
ASCOG region is primarily rural, with an agriculture-
based economy. Increased gas, diesel, and fertilizer
prices; years of drought; and wildfires in 2006 have
severely impacted the agriculture industry. The
average poverty rate in the region is 17 percent, and
the unemployment rate in some counties is as high as
eight percent. Over the past two decades, the popula-
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances

 EPA has selected the Association of South
 Central Oklahoma Governments (ASCOG) for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to conduct about
 12 to 18 Phase I and three to nine Phase II
 environmental site assessments at sites in the
 ASCOG region. 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 6 Brownfields Team
 214-665-6780
 http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: Association of South Central
 Oklahoma Governments
 580-252-0595

 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.
tion in the rural counties has declined by 30 to 50
percent. There are few job opportunities for the area's
Hispanic population. To date, 128 brownfields sites
have been inventoried. They range from a large 140-
acre refinery complex to individual structures. Assess-
ment of brownfields will help allay the concerns about
potential health risks posed by the sites, and pave the
way for cleanup and revitalization. Brownfields
redevelopment is expected to attract new industry,
create much-needed jobs, and increase the local tax
base in ASCOG's communities.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-07-010
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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