A \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
&Z] Fact Sheet
Central Florida Regional Planning Council
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. 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 this law, 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 Central Florida Regional Planning Council (CFRPC)
was selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition
grant. The CFRPC's coalition partners are Polk County
and the Cities of Mulberry and Fort Meade (combined
population 561,606). The coalition partners are located
inland in central Florida, which is primarily rural with
small, scattered towns. These communities have
experienced continued economic decline associated with
mine-scarred lands left behind by open-pit phosphate
mining. Mining activities have moved south of Polk
County, and associated businesses have closed, leaving
behind abandoned commercial and industrial sites,
landfills, and leaking underground storage tanks. There
are over 50,000 acres of unreclaimed mine-scarred lands
in Polk County. Median household incomes in the county
are significantly below the national average. The CFRPC
will focus assessments on sites near residential
communities and sites with a high potential to impact
sensitive populations. Assessment of brownfields is the
necessary first step in restoring the region's economic
stability.
Assessment Grant
$500,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$500,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Central Florida Regional
Planning Council for a brownfields assessment
coalition grant. Community-wide hazardous
substances and petroleum grant funds will be used
to inventory brownfield sites, conduct 44 Phase I
and 16 Phase II environmental site assessments,
and support community outreach activities. Grant
funds also will be used to develop a public health
monitoring plan, conduct cleanup planning, and
implement monitoring 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 4 Brownfields Team
(404) 562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf)
Grant Recipient: Central Florida Regional
Planning Council
(863) 534-7130 ext 124
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-09-213
May 2009
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