SB,
                           HI
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 Brownfields  2003

 Grant  Fact Sheet

      Middletown,  CT



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 Middletown was selected to receive an
assessment grant. Middletown is the largest city in
Middlesex County and has a disproportionate share of
the county's low-income population. For this reason,
the city is considered a distressed community and an
investment community targeted by the state. The city
has pockets of very low-income populations in and
around its older industrial areas. These areas are
negatively impacted by absentee landlords, abandoned
and contaminated industrial properties, blight, and other
quality of life issues. The perception of contamination
on the city's brownfields discourages developers from
restoring these properties and returning them to
productive use.
                                 Assessment Grant
                                                                  2003
                                 $200,000 for hazardous substances

                                 EPA has selected the City of Middletown for a
                                 brownfields assessment grant. The city will
                                 conduct a Phase III environmental assessment of
                                 an industrial site in a mixed-used commercial,
                                 industrial, and residential area in the north part of
                                 the city. Funds also will be used to convene a
                                 series of public meetings to involve the commu-
                                 nity in redevelopment planning.
                                 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 1 Brownfields Team
                                 617-918-1210
                                 http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

                                 Grant Recipient: City of Middletown, CT
                                 860-344-3425

                                 Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City
                                 of Middletown has received brownfields funding for an
                                 assessment grant.

                                 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
                                 negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
                                 are subject to change.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                                                       EPA500-F-03-134
                                                       June 2003
                                                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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