} Brownfields 2009 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
™ Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Ouster County, ID
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 Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation was
selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The
target site is in Custer County (population 4,180), a
rural, mountainous region that relies on ranching,
mining, and tourism as its main resources. The county
contains much of the Frank Church River of No Return
Wilderness, the Salmon River, and the Sawtooth
National Recreation Area. Brownfields in the county
are primarily abandoned mining lands that comprise
several thousand acres. The county's population
decreased 3.7 percent between 2000 and 2006, and the
median household income is below the state median.
Approximately 11 percent of residents live below the
poverty level. The Department plans to protect and
preserve 574 acres in the Historic Bayhorse Mining
District by creating an interpretive Historic State Park.
When the target site is cleaned up, the Department
plans to reuse it as a facility for interpretive exhibits
with information about mining history in the area.
Reuse is expected to increase tourism and create jobs.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Idaho Department of Parks and
Recreation for a brownfields cleanup grant.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
clean up the Skylark Mine in the Historic Bayhorse
Mining District of Custer County. The 34.4-acre site
was formerly used for mining and smelting and is
contaminated with arsenic and metals from mining
technologies used in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Grant funds also will be used to conduct a historical
assessment of the site and support community
involvement 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: Idaho Department of Parks and
Recreation
(208)514-2256
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-09-120
May 09
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