Brownfields 1996 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet Greater Kansas City, KS and MO EPA Brownfields Initiative 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. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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. Background EPA has selected Greater Kansas City for a Brownfields Pilot. The proposed project area is the bi-state Central Industrial District (CID), the oldest industrial sector in the City. A long history of intensive rail activity in the CID has led to real and perceived environmental problems. The area is also in a Federally-designated Enhanced Enterprise Community-one of four nationwide. Population in the CID (49,000) is 79 percent minority, the poverty rate is about 35 percent, unemployment is 17 percent, and per capita income has fallen. For the greater metropolitan area, the manufacturing index (where 1977 = 100) had fallen to 87 in 1991 compared with a drop to 96 nationwide. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 06/13/1996 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets up to six sites within the Greater Kansas City downtown Central Industrial District (CID). 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 7 Brownfields Team (800)223-0425 EPA Region 7 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brown fields) Grant Recipient: City of Kansas City (816)274-2585 Objectives The focus of Kansas City's brownfields effort is to show that economic redevelopment of environmentally contaminated sites in the bi-state CID is both environmentally and economically achievable. This will be accomplished by identifying the CID's best candidate sites for developing a model process for other sites. Existing tools for addressing brownfields, such as prospective purchaser agreements, the economic incentives provided through the Missouri Brownfields Redevelopment Program, and other funding mechanisms, will be compiled from local and national sources and applied to a few select sites. The Pilot will seek to involve key developers and investors and closely interact with the environmental justice communities most affected by the brownfields. Key interstate planning issues such as transportation and regional environmental management will also be dealt with as part of this Pilot. Activities United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA500-F-97-014 May 97 ------- The Pilot is: • Conducting an inventory of the many properties intheCID; • Engaging the residential and business communities in the decision-making process; • Conducting Phase I and II environmental site assessments on four to six sites and planning for cleanup and redevelopment; • Integrating community issues, cleanup requirements, and the interests of developers and investors in the brownfields process at selected sites; and • Ensuring the involvement and consideration of those communities most adversely impacted by the sites through a stakeholders' council. 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 Q ., . ,A/__t,. Environmental bona waste EPA 500-F-97-014 _, and Emergency Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn May 97 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I) ------- Brownfields 1996 Supplemental Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet Kansas City, KS/MO EPA Brownfields Initiative 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. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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. Background EPA awarded Kansas City supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot and additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. The bi-state area is experiencing growing demand from developers, businesses, and community organizations for more environmental assessments on additional brownfields sites in the area. Through the Kansas City Brownfields Program, administered by the Kansas City Brownfields Initiative (KCBI), the Pilot will respond to this demand and continue its work to reclaim and transform relics of Kansas City's industrial past into models of economic and sustainable growth. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 03/01/2000 Amount: $150,000 $50,000 for Greenspace Profile: Kansas City, KS/MO. The Pilot will target seven sites for environmental assessments and possible cleanup planning. 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 7 Brownfields Team (800)223-0425 EPA Region 7 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brown fields) Grant Recipient: City of Kansas City (816)513-3002 Objectives The Pilot will use the supplemental assistance to conduct additional environmental assessments and investigations and plan cleanup and redevelopment at brownfields sites throughout the city. The effort is part of KCBI's overall strategy for cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields in the area and encouraging brownfields redevelopment through examples of successful model projects and by establishing the foundations of a permanent and comprehensive local brownfields program. The Pilot will use the greenspace funding to conduct assessments of future greenspace sites along the Heritage Riverfront Trail. The trail is located near and adjacent to several brownfields properties and will provide recreational and transportation amenities, enhancing the redevelopment potential of these properties. The Pilot will also use the greenspace funding to explore using engineered wetlands to manage United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-00-026 Apr 00 ------- flooding from a nearby creek and stormwater impacts on brownfields developments. This project involves a partnership of local government agencies; KCBI; the Water Services and Public Works departments; and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to: - Conduct environmental assessments and investigations at seven brownfields sites; - Develop a cleanup plan for one additional property; - Facilitate involvement of new stakeholders into the brownfields redevelopment process; and - Conduct assessments at the Riverfront Heritage Trail and explore the use of engineered wetlands in the Central Industrial District, the original Pilot target area. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. 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) EPA 500-F-00-026 Apr 00 ------- |