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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Chattanooga, TN
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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of Chattanooga was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant and a brownfields
cleanup grant. Located in southeast Tennessee,
Chattanooga (population 155,554) is a federally desig-
nated Renewal Community with a rich industrial past.
Textile mills, foundries, tanneries, and brick kilns once
thrived in the city's urban core. However, vacant
properties were used as open disposal sites by area
industries. As environmental conditions declined, many
residents moved to the suburbs. Today, there are an
estimated 1,200 to 1,500 brownfields in the city. The
city is targeting the 19-square-mile central city area for
assessment. Sixty-seven percent of area residents are
minorities and 34 percent live below the poverty level.
The unemployment rate is 15.4 percent. Abandoned,
underused, and potentially contaminated manufacturing
t
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Chattanooga for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to perform about
10 Phase I and one to three Phase II environmen-
tal site assessments, conduct human health moni-
toring, and support community outreach activities in
the city's urban core.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Chattanooga for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up the 8.2-acre
Ohls Avenue Brownfields site. The site was home
to small foundries, tire repair facilities, and a
disposal site for the former Chattanooga Glass
Company. Contaminants of concern include
poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals.
Grant funds will be used to remove and isolate the
hazardous substances and conduct 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 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8792
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf
Grant Recipient: City of Chattanooga, TN
423-757-5216 (Assessment)
423-266-5781 (Cleanup)
sites are often close to residential areas. Assessment
of brownfields is expected to enable the city to focus
on cleanup planning and community health strategies.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-08-090
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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The Ohls Avenue site is in the Alton Park Redevelop-
ment Area, a neighborhood where 97 percent of
residents are African-American and 54 percent live
below the poverty level. Cleanup of the site is expected
to help implement the community's master plan and
leverage investment for redevelopment.
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative agree-
ment for the grant has not yet been negotiated. There-
fore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject
to change.
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