Brownfields 2010 Assessment  Grant Fact Sheet
               Van Wert County> °H
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

Van Wert County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in northwestern Ohio, Van
Wert County (population 28,889) originally had an
agricultural economy that eventually was replaced by
industry, including sawmills and automobile supply
plants in almost every community. With the decline of
the domestic automobile industry and other
manufacturing sectors, the county experienced  a sharp
economic downturn that left behind numerous
abandoned and uncharacterized brownfields. These sites
have hampered economic growth and decreased tax
revenues. There was an 11 percent decrease in
manufacturing employment from 2001 through 2007.
The county"s unemployment rate recently increased to
more than 15 percent, which represents a 100 percent
increase in a nine-month period. Budget shortages and
insufficient staff have limited the county"s ability to
address brownfields. Brownfield assessments are
expected to help the county move forward with plans to
reuse existing infrastructure, promote sustainable green
building practices, and create greenspace.
                   Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous
                   substances
                   EPA has selected Van Wert County for a
                   brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                   hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                   inventory sites and conduct 19 Phase I and eight
                   Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds
                   also will be used to 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: Van Wert County,OH
                   419-238-2999

                   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-10-127
        Apr 10

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