Brownfields 2011 Assessment Grant Fact  Sheet
               Chisholm, MN
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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. Under this 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

The City of Chisholm was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment coalition grant. The city's
coalition partners are 14 cities and townships
(combined coalition population 44,999) in the Central
Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota.  Iron mining
began in this area in the mid-1800s and continues
today. Early miners built their homes near the mines
where they worked. The result is land-locked
communities that contain several acres of waste rock
stockpiles, abandoned mine pits, and idle industrial
facilities with very little remaining land for
development. Between 2000 and 2008,  the  population
of the coalition communities  decreased by nearly five
percent. Unemployment rates for the Cities of Hibbing
and Virginia, the coalition's population  centers, range
from 14.5 to 16.1 percent. The area is poised to grow
again due to the expansion of a large steel facility. The
community is anticipating the need for new housing,
industrial parks, and infrastructure. Brownfield
assessments will allow the coalition to determine
actions required to return properties to reuse.
                   Assessment Grant

                   $674,500 for hazardous substances
                   $52,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected the City of Chisholm for a
                   brownfields assessment coalition grant.
                   Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds
                   will be used to conduct 11 Phase I and 11 Phase II
                   environmental site assessments. Petroleum grant
                   funds will be used to conduct one Phase I and one
                   Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds
                   also will be used to conduct 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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

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

                   Grant Recipient: City of Chisholm,MN
                   218-254-7900

                   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)
E PA 560-F-128-085
         May 11

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