Brownfields  2009 Assessment  Grant
               Fact Sheet
               Ottawa County, OH
                                                        RECOUERY.GOV
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
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed
into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of
jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the
Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and
clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under
this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.

Community Description

Ottawa County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located on Lake Erie in northern
Ohio, Ottawa County (population 41,331) has been
adversely affected by the loss of manufacturing and
other businesses that served the community since the
1950s. Since 2000, over 30 businesses, including 5 of
the county's largest manufacturers, have closed. Those
closings have left a legacy of abandoned, underused,
and contaminated properties, quarries, and gypsum
mines. Some of these sites are close to residences and
agricultural land. The county experienced an 18.4
percent decrease in manufacturing employment from
2000 to 2006. During the last eight years, the county's
median household income has fallen to less than 80
percent of the state's median income. The impact of this
decline is most evident in Port Clinton, the county's
largest municipality, which has a poverty rate exceeding
27 percent. Assessment of brownfields is expected to
catalyze cleanup and redevelopment, and preserve
agricultural land and other greenspace.
                   Assessment Grant
                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                   (Recovery Act Funding)
                   EPA has selected Ottawa County for a brownfields
                   assessment grant. Community-wide hazardous
                   substances grant funds will be used to inventory and
                   prioritize brownfields, conduct about 18 Phase I and
                   10 Phase II environmental site assessments, conduct
                   cleanup planning, and support 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 5 Brownfields Team
                   (312)886-7576
                   EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Ottawa County,OH
                   (419)734-6781

                   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-09-207
        May 09

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