Brownfields 2004 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
    ~          Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK
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

Fairbanks North Star Borough was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. The borough (population
82,840) is located in the heart of interior Alaska. Lying
within 1,000 feet of the targeted former recycling
facility is a  175-unit mobile home park with an
estimated population of 430. Approximately 34 percent
of the mobile home park residents are children under
the age of 18. Within a one-mile radius of the target
site, 25.7 percent of the population are minorities. Prior
to a fire that closed the facility, many children used the
site for play and skateboarding. Despite closure, it is
impossible to completely secure the property or to keep
children from playing there. Although the site has
excellent potential for reuse as a light industrial park,
concerns over contamination have discouraged
redevelopers from acquiring it. Once the type and levels
of suspected contamination have been identified and
cleaned up, the property is likely to return to productive
use, thereby benefitting the area's economy, and helping
improve the community's health and welfare.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $148,398 for hazardous substances

                   EPA has selected Fairbanks North Star Borough for
                   a brownfields assessment grant. The grant will be
                   used to complete Phase I and II site assessments on a
                   tax-foreclosed former solid-waste recycling center
                   contaminated with lead-acid batteries, transformer
                   casings, barrels of petroleum products, and other
                   hazardous substances. Funds also will be used to
                   develop a corrective action plan for the property.

                   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: Fairbanks North Star Borough,AK
                   (907)459-1241

                   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)
EPA 560-F-04-045
        Jun 04

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