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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Richmond,  IN


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 Richmond was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Richmond (population
39,124) is located on the Ohio border about 90 miles
east of Indianapolis. The city's population has been
declining since 1990. Within the past three years,
several industries have relocated, resulting  in the loss
of at least 500 jobs and an unemployment rate that
exceeds state and national averages. Richmond's
poverty rate is 15.7 percent. The city has experienced
property tax shortfalls that have reduced its ability to
provide services. Cleanup of the Starr Gennett Area of
the Whitewater Valley Gorge, one of at least ten
identified brownfields in the city, will allow the  site to
be redeveloped into a park that will serve as a key
component in a 70-mile rails-to-trails project. Redevel-
 Cleanup  Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Richmond for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
 grant funds will be used to clean up the 13-acre
 Starr Gennett Area of the Whitewater Valley
 Gorge, at South 1st Street. The site was used to
 manufacture pianos and phonograph records and
 is contaminated with metals and benzo(a)pyrene.
 Grant funds also will be used to support commu-
 nity 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 5 Brownfields Team
 312-886-7576
 http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

 Grant Recipient: City of Richmond, IN
 765-983-7222

 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.
opment of the site will help remove a health hazard
from the community, create temporary and permanent
jobs, and provide recreational and educational oppor-
tunities for local residents.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-07-140
                         May 2007
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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