Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet ™ Cuyahoga County, OH 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 Cuyahoga County was selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition grant. The county's coalition partners are the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Cuyahoga County (population 1,295,958) is located in northern Ohio along the shores of Lake Erie. It is an industrial county that has struggled economically in recent years. Between 2000 and 2006, the county lost over 45,000 manufacturing jobs. The poverty rate in Cleveland is nearly 30 percent. In Cleveland alone, there are between 10,000 and 25,000 vacant and abandoned properties. Many additional brownfields are scattered throughout the county. Brownfield assessments will quantify environmental contamination and risks to human health and the environment at priority sites. They also will help the county plan for cleanups necessary to reduce these risks, which are expected to lower existing barriers to redevelopment of brownfields. Assessment Grant $1,000,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected Cuyahoga County for a brownfields assessment coalition grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct between 20 and 30 Phase I and between 15 and 20 Phase II environmental site assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct from 10 to 15 environmental site assessments that comply with Bureau of Underground Storage Tank regulations. Assessments will focus on two target areas, the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Port's International Trade District, and the remainder of the county. Grant funds also will be used for health monitoring and 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: Cuyahoga County,OH (216) 698-2574 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-09-179 May 2009 ------- |