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 Brownfields  2003

 Grant  Fact  Sheet

   Kitsap  County,  WA



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 con-
taminant. 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

Kitsap County was selected to receive two cleanup
grants. The county is targeting two lumber mill sites in
the rural Gorst community, which is a predominately
rural, low-income port near Bremerton. The now
abandoned lumber mills operated from the 1950s to
1970s but closed along with many other mills in the
region when the industry declined. The Former Pope
Lumber Mill site currently contains an operating fence
company and a regional stormwater collection facility
that was originally a mill  pond. Over  30 percent of the
households in the community are classified as poor.
Many residents are transient due to the substandard
low-rent housing, the variable nature of shipyard employ-
ment, and the few local industrial jobs. The cleanup of
                                  Cleanup Grants
                                  $288,000 for hazardous substances
                                  EPA has selected Kitsap County for two cleanup
                                  grants totaling $288,000. The grant funds will be
                                  used to conduct cleanup activities at the Former
                                  Pope Lumber Mill and the Former Bremer
                                  Lumber Mill sites, which are part of the Gorst
                                  Creek Estuary Restoration Project. Investiga-
                                  tions have identified chemically contaminated
                                  debris and contaminated soil and sediments at
                                  both sites.
                                  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 10 Brownfields Team
                                  206-553-2100
                                  http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth click on
                                  "Superfund", scroll down, and click on
                                  "Brownfields"

                                  Grant Recipient: Kitsap County, WA
                                  360-337-7181

                                  Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, Kitsap
                                  County also received funding for assessment grants.

                                  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
                                  negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
                                  are subject to change.
                               the sites will reclaim degraded shorelines, expand the
                               storm pond to provide a permanent public utility for
                               improving water quality, reestablish native salmon
                               habitat, and attract new economic investment that
                               supports shipyard activities and creates local jobs. A
                               Brownfields Task Force representing several community
                               organizations will continue to support the project.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                                                        EPA500-F-03-117
                                                        June 2003
                                                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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