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Brownfields 2007
Grant Fact Sheet
Kansas City Port
Authority, Jackson
and Cass Counties,
MO
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 Kansas City Port Authority was selected to
receive two brownfields cleanup grants. The Port
Authority has targeted sites within the former
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base (RGAFB) for
cleanup. The 1,200-acre base is located 18 miles south
of downtown Kansas City in Jackson and Cass Coun-
ties. The communities most closely impacted by
RGAFB's brownfields are Belton (population 21,745),
located south of the base, and Grandview (population
Cleanup Grants
$400,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Kansas City Port Authority
for two brownfields cleanup grants. Grant funds
will be used to conduct community outreach
activities, design a cleanup plan, conduct cleanup
activities, and monitor institutional controls for
the Northeast Landfill and the South Coterminous
Area at the former Richards-Gebaur Formerly
Used Defense Site (FUDS) property. Contami-
nants of concern include volatile organic com-
pounds and unknown landfill hazardous waste.
Funds also will be used to perform the same tasks
at the former Richards-Gebaur Base Realignment
and Closure (BRAC) site. There are about 45
structures on this former military installation that
may be contaminated with hazardous substances.
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 7 Brownfields Team
800-223-0425
http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brownfields/
index.htm
Grant Recipient: Port Authority of Kansas City,
MO
816-221-0636
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.
24,967), located northeast of the base. Belton experi-
enced a 139 percent increase in its Latino population
between 1990 and 2000. Grandview is an inner-ring
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-07-087
May 2007
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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suburb where the African-American and Latino
populations doubled and the poverty rate increased by
25 percent during the same period. Kansas City
(population 441,545), which is a federal Enterprise
Community and Empowerment Zone, and these two
suburbs have been negatively impacted by RGAFB's
closure and realignment. Cleanup of the two sites will
help remove the blight and health risks associated with
the properties and advance the public-private initiative
to redevelop the base. Revitalization plans include a
state-of-the-art intermodal distribution facility and a
light-industrial and commercial complex. This project
is expected to yield up to $500 million in new private
and public investment.
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