Brownfields 2009 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet Bremerton, WA RECOUERY.GOV 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. On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Community Description The City of Bremerton was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Eight of the top 20 priority brownfields in Kitsap County are in Bremerton (population 35,295). Several of these sites are on the Sinclair Inlet and Port Washington Narrows shoreline. The neighborhood adjacent to the target site is Navy Yard City, which is close to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Since the early 1900s, the shipyard has been the primary source of jobs in Bremerton. Between 2000 and 2005, the Navy changed its technology and mission in the Puget Sound area, resulting in the loss of at least 2,000 jobs. The target area is one of the most impoverished in the Puget Sound region, where 25 percent of residents are minorities, and 27 percent live below the poverty level. When the target site is cleaned up, the city plans to redevelop it as a light industrial or commercial facility. Redevelopment is expected to leverage additional investment, create jobs, and generate new economic activity. Cleanup Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances (Recovery Act Funding) EPA has selected the City of Bremerton for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Robinson property at 1118 Charleston Beach Road. The quarter-acre site was formerly a restaurant, garage, and stove shop, and is contaminated with mercury, metals, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Grant funds also will be used to conduct groundwater monitoring and support community involvement 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 (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 10 Brownfields Team (206)553-7299 EPA Region 10 Brownfields Web site (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/ sites/bf) Grant Recipient: City of Bremerton,WA (360) 473-5272 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) EPA560-F-09-138 May 09 ------- |