Brownfields 2011  Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Wauchula, FL
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 Wauchula was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Wauchula (population
4,538) is adjacent to the Peace River and was once an
economic and social center in rural central Florida. It
initially  developed in the 1800s and benefited
economically from the phosphate boom, citrus groves,
and cattle. The local economy is still dominated by
agriculture, with nearly one in five jobs held in farming,
mining,  forestry, and fishing. Today, Wauchula is beset
with an overabundance of strip commercial properties,
deteriorating buildings and housing units, and an aging
infrastructure. Three hurricanes in 2004 destroyed or
damaged 85 percent of the structures in the community.
Wauchula's median household income is well below the
nationwide average. Former gas stations, citrus groves,
dry cleaning and industrial facilities, and the former
Florida Southern Railway are some of the brownfields
identified in the area. Assessment of brownfields is
expected to identify risks to human health and facilitate
cleanup  and redevelopment planning.
                     Assessment Grants

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances
                     $200,000 for petroleum

                     EPA has selected the City of Wauchula for two
                     brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct 11 Phase I and five Phase II
                     environmental site assessments. Petroleum grant
                     funds will be used to conduct seven Phase I and
                     four Phase II environmental  site assessments.
                     Grant funds also will be used to conduct public
                     health monitoring, support community
                     involvement activities, and prepare cleanup plans.
                     Assessments will focus on the U.S. 17 Corridor,
                     the Florida Avenue Corridor, and Downtown
                     Wauchula.
                     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 4 Brownfields Team
                     (404) 562-8792
                     EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf)

                     Grant Recipient: City of Wauchula,FL
                     863-773-9193

                     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-128-043
       May 2011

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