Brownfields 2011 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Wye County, 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 Nye County was selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition grant. The county's coalition partners are Esmeralda, Lincoln, and White Pine Counties in Nevada, and Inyo County in California. Located in southern Nevada and on the California-Nevada border, the five counties (combined population 75,817) have been dependent on the mining industry for most of their histories. Mine-scarred lands in the counties offer key opportunities for redevelopment for sources of renewable energy because they offer large amounts of space near necessary infrastructure, such as transmission lines. However, the counties have had difficulty attracting renewable energy businesses because of several factors, including blight and suspected contamination from facilities such as gas stations, methamphetamine labs, manufacturing plants, and refineries. The unemployment rate exceeds 17 percent in one of the coalition counties, while in two of the counties, over 16 percent of residents live in poverty. All communities within the coalition area are facing high home foreclosure rates. Assessment of brownfields is expected to identify corridors for transmission and renewable energy redevelopment, and leverage redevelopment funding. Assessment Grant $700,000 for hazardous substances $300,000 for petroleum EPA has selected Nye County for a brownfields assessment coalition grant. Community-wide hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to develop a list of prioritized sites, perform approximately 20 Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments, and enforce institutional controls. Grant funds also will be used to conduct cleanup planning, support community outreach activities, and develop an area-wide plan focused on renewable energy redevelopment potential. 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 9 Brownfields Team 415-972-3364 EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region9/brownfields) Grant Recipient: Nye County,NV 775-727-3484 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-128-126 May 11 ------- United States Q ., . ,A/__t,. Environmental and Emergency EPA 56°-p-1 Protection Agency Resoonse f51 Q5Ti May 11 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I) ------- |