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  Brownfields 2007

  Grant  Fact Sheet

      Rensselaer, NY


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 Rensselaer was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located along the
Hudson River across from Albany, Rensselaer (popula-
tion 7,761) enjoyed a period of steady economic
growth from the late 1800s through the 1960s. This
growth was primarily due to the expansion of manu-
facturing operations  at the city's textile mills and
pharmaceutical and chemical plants. All of the textile
mills were closed by the early  1980s. The city's
pharmaceutical and chemical industries also had
declined significantly by 1999. Almost 13 percent of
residents now live below the poverty level. About one-
third of the city's parcels are vacant. Many of these are
located along the Hudson River. Assessment of the
city's brownfields will leverage redevelopment re-
 Assessment Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the City of Rensselaer for two
 assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant
 funds will be used to conduct four or five Phase I
 and three Phase II  environmental site assess-
 ments, and support community outreach through-
 out the city. 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 2 Brownfields Team
 212-637-4314
 http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/
 brownfields/

 Grant Recipient: City of Rensselaer, NY
 518-465-1693

 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.
sources needed to revitalize the city's waterfront area
as a place to live, work, and play. Planned pathways
and trails will facilitate public access to the waterfront
from the city's train station.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-07-137
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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