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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact Sheet

          El Paso,  TX


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 City of El Paso was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. El Paso (population
598,590) is located in west Texas along the U.S.-
Mexico border. About 77 percent of residents are
minorities. Although this desert city is not heavily
industrialized, El Paso has at least 82 known
brownfields sites, including rail yards, steel mills, light
manufacturing and metal plating plants, auto repair
shops, and gasoline stations. These brownfields
typically date back to the 1930s and 1940s. Suburban
sprawl has left the urban core underused and impover-
ished. This area has been designated as a federal
Empowerment Zone. Brownfields and a meager tax
base have  hampered redevelopment. The city's poverty
rate exceeds 27 percent, and unemployment is above
statewide and national averages. Assessment funds
 Assessment Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of El Paso for two
 brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
 substances grant funds will be used to conduct
 community outreach activities and perform 11
 Phase I and five Phase II environmental site
 assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used
 to perform the same tasks at sites with potential
 petroleum contamination.
 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: City of El Paso, TX
 915-565-2602

 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.
will help bolster the city's downtown redevelopment
projects and give momentum to recent development
plans that will create jobs, enhance the tax base, and
preserve greenspace.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-045
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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