Brownfields  2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Stephenson County, IL
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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. 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

Stephenson County was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in rural
northwest Illinois, Stephenson County (population
48,979)  once had a thriving industrial and
manufacturing economy served by major highways and
rail lines. Global economic changes have resulted in a
large number of businesses and manufacturers closing
or relocating. Those closures in turn have resulted in a
7.2 percent decline in manufacturing, and a large
number of abandoned factories, agri-business facilities,
and commercial enterprises. The county estimates that
it contains about 83 potentially contaminated properties.
Among African-American workers, unemployment is
23 percent. Assessment of brownfields is expected to
catalyze site cleanup and redevelopment, and promote
the health and restoration of the Pecatonica River.
                   Assessment Grants

                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                   $200,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected Stephenson County for two
                   brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                   grant funds will be used to prioritize brownfields,
                   and conduct three to five Phase I and Phase II
                   environmental site assessments for hazardous
                   substances and petroleum contamination. Grant
                   funds also will be used to conduct cleanup planning
                   and support 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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
                   (312)886-7576
                   EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Stephenson County,IL
                   (815)235-8277

                   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 560-F-09-088
        May 09

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