Brownfields 2003 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Augusta, GA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response
programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Augusta was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Augusta (population
205,000) is the second largest city in Georgia. Many of
the city's brownfields are located in or near the
disadvantaged Hyde Park neighborhood. The city is
considering a number of sites in this area for
assessment, including a former scrap yard and a metal
recycling facility. The city also plans  to conduct
assessments at residential sites near the scrap metal
yard, which was found to be severely contaminated
following an assessment funded by a previous
brownfields assessment grant. Ninety-eight percent of
Hyde Park's residents  are minorities. The poverty rate in
the target area is 67 percent, and median household
income is less than $9,000. The Hyde Park area typifies
blight caused by brownfields, and these properties have
contributed to disinvestment. In addition, many
residents have developed health problems that may be
attributed to contaminated industrial sites located in or
near residential areas.  The targeted sites have excellent
redevelopment potential and may be redeveloped into a
technology office park and community education and
training center.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $200,000 for hazardous substances

                   EPA has selected the City of Augusta for a
                   brownfields assessment grant. The city intends to use
                   grant funds to perform environmental site
                   assessments on abandoned properties in the
                   disadvantaged, predominantly minority Hyde Park
                   neighborhood. Grant funds also will be used for
                   outreach activities, reuse planning, and to expand the
                   existing geographic information system (GIS)
                   brownfields inventory.

                   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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
                   (404) 562-8792
                   EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
                   (http: //www. epa.gov/region4/waste/bf)

                   Grant Recipient: Augusta,GA
                   (706)821-1706

                   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 negotiated.
                   Therefore, activities described  in this fact sheet are
                   subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-03-048
        Jun 03

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