Brownfields  2003 Assessment  Grant Fact Sheet
               Reading, 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. 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 Reading was selected to receive an
assessment grant. The City of Reading is a
state-designated Enterprise Zone Community, and a
locally designated Community Reinvestment Act Area
and Urban Renewal Area. The city has experienced
significant job losses in recent years. Between 1995 and
1998, Reading's largest employer moved one of its
divisions, and its 600 high-paying jobs, to  New Jersey.
General Electric Aircraft Engine, which also employs
many Reading residents, has cut 800 jobs since
September 11, 2001. The total number of businesses  in
the city declined from 400 to 318 between 1998 and
2002. There are only four sites available to the city for
development or redevelopment, and three have known
or suspected contamination. The site targeted for
assessment is located near an emerging biotech hub in
an area in which a majority of residents are considered
low- to moderate-income. Redevelopment plans include
construction of buildings with 100,000-square feet of
laboratory and office space, which could generate
300-400 new research and support jobs.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $200,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected the City of Reading for a
                   brownfields assessment grant. The funds will be
                   used to conduct a Phase II environmental site
                   assessment on a former glass and box manufacturing
                   plant site with suspected petroleum contamination.

                   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: Reading, OH, City of
                   (513)733-3725

                   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)
EPA500-F-03-166
        Jun 03

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