Brownfields  2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, North Chicago, IL
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 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
was selected to receive two brownfields assessment
grants. Assessment efforts will target the City of North
Chicago (population 32,608), which occupies about 7.8
square miles on the southwestern coast of Lake
Michigan about 30 miles north of Chicago. More than
half of North Chicago"s residents are military personnel
living and working at Naval Station Great  Lakes, the
U.S. Navy"s largest training facility. The city was once
home to more than 60 industrial and manufacturing
facilities. Economic downturns have forced many of
these facilities to shut down, leaving behind abandoned
buildings and contaminated lands. North Chicago"s
former industrial sites occupy about 180 acres of vacant
or underused properties with unknown environmental
contamination. The city"s unemployment rate is 15.9
percent. Because much of the city"s land is federally
owned, revenue-generating property is scarce.
Brownfield assessments are expected to help the IEPA
leverage cleanup resources for eventual site
redevelopment that will provide job opportunities.
                   Assessment Grants

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

                   EPA has selected the Illinois Environmental
                   Protection Agency for two brownfields assessment
                   grants. Community-wide hazardous substances grant
                   funds will be used to conduct three Phase I and three
                   Phase II environmental site assessments in the City
                   of North Chicago. Grant funds also will be used to
                   conduct cleanup planning. Petroleum grant funds
                   will be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with
                   potential petroleum contamination.

                   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: Illinois Environmental Protection
                   Agency
                   217-524-1658

                   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-10-088
        Apr 10

-------