Brownfields 2011  Assessment and Revolving
               Loan  Fund Grant Fact Sheet
               Portland, OR
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 Portland was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants and a brownfields
revolving loan fund grant. Located in northwest
Oregon, Portland (population 566,143) has a
disproportionately high number of brownfields because
of its history as a major manufacturing center, port, and
the state's most populous area. The state has listed
nearly 4,000 brownfields in Portland. Contaminants at
these sites are carried through watersheds that drain to
the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, which are home
to migrating endangered salmon. Historically, Portland
and Oregon as a whole have been among the first to be
impacted in economic downturns and among the last
areas to  recover. The city's unemployment rate is 10.4
percent, and per capita income has been declining since
the mid-1990s. The target area of East Portland has
some of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city,
and many residents live in poverty. Brownfield
assessments will identify contamination, provide
incentives for developers and property owners to take
action on properties, and facilitate the East Portland
Action Plan, which calls for brownfields
redevelopment. Cleanup and redevelopment conducted
through the RLF grant are expected to fill a key gap in
                  Assessment Grants

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

                  EPA has selected the City of Portland for two
                  brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                  hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                  perform nine Phase I and five Phase II environmental
                  site assessments, with a focus on sites in East
                  Portland. Grant funds also will be used to develop
                  cleanup plans and conduct community outreach
                  activities. Petroleum grant funds will be used to
                  conduct the same tasks at sites with potential
                  petroleum contamination.

                  Revolving Loan Fund Grant

                  $690,000 for hazardous substances
                  $310,000 for petroleum

                  EPA has selected the City of Portland for a
                  brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant
                  will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from
                  which the City of Portland will provide loans and
                  subgrants to support cleanup activities for sites
                  contaminated with hazardous substances and
                  petroleum. The city expects to issue one loan and
                  one subgrant each for hazardous substances and
                  petroleum cleanups. Grant funds also will be used to
                  conduct marketing 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 10  Brownfields Team
                  (206)553-7299
                  EPA Region 10  Brownfields Web site
                  (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/
                  sites/bf)

                  Grant Recipient: City of Portland, Oregon
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-128-127
         May 11

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me city s orownneias reviianzanon process.
Redevelopment is expected to stimulate local economic
development efforts and restore economic strength in
neighborhoods.
                    503-823-7764

                    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-128-127
          May 11

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