Brownfields 2004 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Port of Seattle, WA 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 Port of Seattle was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant and a cleanup grant. The cleanup target site and two of the three sites to be assessed are within the federally designated Dumwash Enterprise Community of Seattle (population 1,774,300). Since the early 1900s, the Dumwash Corridor, adjacent to the port, has been one of Seattle's principal blue-collar employment areas. Aging industrial facilities and widespread contamination contributed to an ongoing decline in the area. Nineteen percent of the 14,000 Corridor residents live in poverty, and the median household income is 28 percent below the county median. Thirty percent of the local population are minorities. Cleanup and revitalization of the port sites are important to the City of Seattle, King County and the State of Washington. Because of the downturn in some of the area's largest industries, aircraft manufacturing and high-tech, the state regularly competes for the highest unemployment rate in the country. Redevelopment plans for the port sites call for mixed uses, including commercial, high-tech research, light industry, public transportation hubs, and recreational access to the waterway and coves. Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Port of Seattle for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to complete Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments at three locations within the port area, including terminals and warehouses. These sites supported industrial businesses including a machine shop, a glass company, an ink manufacturer, assorted warehouses, and transportation-related maintenance operations. 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: Port of Seattle,WA (206)728-3160 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-04-175 Jun 04 ------- |