Brownfields 2010  Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Middletown, OH
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

The City of Middletown was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Middletown (population
51,605)  is in southwest Ohio along the Great Miami
River. The city became a manufacturing and industrial
center, producing primarily paper and steel products. As
these industries closed, they left behind several idle and
underused brownfields, which had a strong negative
impact on the city"s economy. The unemployment rate
is almost 13 percent, an increase of nearly 80 percent
since 2008. The poverty rate is 22 percent. Many
potentially contaminated properties are in the
downtown and western areas of the city, where the
largest number of low-income and minority residents
live. Assessment of brownfields is expected to help the
city spur cleanup and redevelopment of blighted
properties.
                   Assessment Grants

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

                   EPA has selected the City of Middletown for two
                   brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                   hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will
                   be used to conduct about 12 Phase I and eight Phase
                   II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
                   will be used to conduct cleanup planning, health
                   monitoring, and 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: City of Middletown, Ohio
                   513-425-7847

                   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)
EPA560-F-10-123
        Apr 10

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