HI
                            C3
 Brownfields  2003

 Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Fostoria,  OH




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 Fostoria was selected to receive an
assessment grant. Fostoria (population 13,931) is
located in northwest Ohio, approximately 40 miles
south of Toledo. Fostoria's history is intertwined with
the emergence and prosperity of the nation's great
railroads. Over the past 150 years, this small Midwest-
ern city developed a solid manufacturing economy
supported by its transportation lifeline, the railroads.
However, like many Rust Belt communities, the city
has lost much of its economic base as manufacturing
firms that once formed the backbone of the local
economy downsized or closed down. Fostoria contin-
ues to lose jobs and population.  The residential neigh-
borhood north of the Iron Triangle has been designated
as an environmental justice area due to the dispropor-
   Assessment Grant
   $200,000 for hazardous substances
   $ 100,000 for petroleum

   EPA has selected the City of Fostoria for a
   brownfields assessment grant. The city intends to
   use grant funds to identify, prioritize, and assess
   up to a dozen brownfields in an area of the city
   known as "The Iron Triangle," where three sets
   of railroad tracks converge. Grant funds also will
   be used to conduct human health risk assessments
   and 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 at: www.epa.gov/
   brownfields.

   EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
   312-886-7576
   http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

   Grant Recipient: City of Fostoria, OH
   419-435-7789

   Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of
   Fostoria 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.
tionate number of potentially contaminated sites located
nearby. The 12 targeted sites within the proposed
project area are located near a planned train museum
and visitor center, which the city hopes will attract
visitors, investment, businesses, and new jobs to the
Iron Triangle.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 500-F-03-096
                         June 2003
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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