HI
                            C3
 Brownfields  2003

 Grant Fact Sheet

            Cocoa,  F/_



EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Cocoa was selected to receive an assess-
ment grant. This city of 16,400 residents is working to
revitalize the state-designated Cocoa Enterprise Zone
(EZ). Rapid population growth in neighboring cities has
resulted in the widening of primary transportation
routes cutting through the city. This has forced many
businesses in the area to relocate. The population
within the EZ is declining and the housing stock that
was constructed nearly 40 years ago has deteriorated.
Abandoned, blighted, and potentially contaminated
properties are deterring private developers and lower-
ing property values. EZ residents have a poverty rate
of 39 percent and an unemployment rate of 12 percent.
The city's EZ Strategic Planning Committee, which
  Assessment Grant
   $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the City of Cocoa for a
  brownfields assessment grant. The city is
  focusing on its state-designated Cocoa Enterprise
  Zone (EZ) with this grant. Grant funds will be
  used to determine the number and type of
  brownfield sites in the EZ, develop a quality
  assurance management plan, conduct seven
  Phase I assessments on sites selected with
  community input, complete limited Phase II
  assessments of five sites, conduct one entire
  Phase II assessment, and complete ten asbestos
  and lead-based paint surveys.
   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 at:
  www.epa.gov/brownfields.

  EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
  404-562-8661
  http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

  Grant Recipient: City of Cocoa, FL
  321-639-7557

  Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City
  of Cocoa has not received brownfields grant funding.

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
  negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
  are subject to change.
includes local residents and businesses, is working to
reverse the downward economic and social trends and
ensure the sustainable redevelopment of the area.
                                                   Solid Waste and
                                                   Emergency Response
                                                   (5105T)
                         EPA 500-F-03-070
                         June 2003
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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