A \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment and
?JS&>] Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
Saint Paul, MN
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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed. 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 both laws in Fiscal Year 2009, 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 Saint Paul was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment coalition grant and a brownfields
cleanup grant. The city's assessment coalition partners are
the Metropolitan Council and the Ramsey County
Regional Railroad Authority. Located adjacent to the
Mississippi River, Saint Paul (population 287,151) has
been losing its once thriving manufacturing and
commercial centers for decades. With the decline and
closing of these operations, thousands of residents lost
their jobs, and hundreds of acres of abandoned
brownfields were left behind. Historically, the assessment
target area was home to a variety of land uses with
recognized environmental concerns, including machine
shops and foundries. The communities within the area
have high concentrations of low-income, unemployed
minority residents who rely on public transportation.
Assessment of brownfields within the Transit Opportunity
Zone is expected to provide information to help develop
cleanup plans for sites with high redevelopment potential
when a light rail transit line through the area is completed.
Once the target site is cleaned up, the city plans to turn it
into an interpretive center that will be open to the public.
Assessment Grant
$618,800 for hazardous substances
$381,200 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Saint Paul for a
brownfields assessment coalition grant.
Community-wide hazardous substances grant
funds will be used to conduct eight Phase I and
five Phase II environmental site assessments.
Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct 12
Phase I and 9 Phase II environmental site
assessments. Grant funds also will be used for
cleanup planning, public health monitoring, and
community outreach activities. The focus of
assessments will be the five-mile-long Transit
Opportunity Zone from Rice Street to the western
border of the city.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
EPA has selected the City of Saint Paul for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up the Bruce
Vento Interpretive Center Phase I site at 293
Commercial Street and two adjacent
non-addressed areas. The site is a nearly two-acre
area on the city's east side adjacent to a nature
sanctuary, and was used for warehousing, a
foundry and boiler works, and residences.
Environmental site assessments have documented
the presence of polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons and metals at the site. Grant funds
will be used to excavate and dispose of impacted
soils, install a cover over the site, and conduct
community outreach.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-09-188
May 2009
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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 Saint Paul, Minnesota
(651)266-6425
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-09-188
May 2009
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