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/R5Brownfiel ds)

                     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 2011

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