Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Moscow, ID 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 Moscow was selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition grant. The city"s coalition partners are Latah County and the Moscow Urban Renewal Agency. Moscow (population 24,329) is a rural community adjacent to the Idaho-Washington border in the eastern half of the Palouse region. The area"s economy relies heavily on education, retail, and government services. The University of Idaho accounts for 53 percent of all jobs in the city, and 25 percent of residents live below the poverty level. The coalition"s goals include diversifying the area"s economic base to be less dependent on one or two major employers. Assessments will focus on five sites along an abandoned railroad corridor with previous light and heavy agricultural operations, including hazardous chemical storage, lumber and grain mills, and petroleum distribution facilities. The area includes the Legacy Crossing Urban Renewal District, where most of the property is blighted and underutilized. Assessment of brownfields is expected to help the city meet the goals of its Economic Plan, which focuses on redevelopment of the railroad corridor and improvements to the downtown business district. Assessment Grant $375,750 for hazardous substances $99,250 for petroleum EPA has selected the City of Moscow for a brownfields assessment coalition grant. Community-wide hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct five Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments, and support 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 10 Brownfields Team (206)553-7299 EPA Region 10 Brownfields Web site (http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CL EANUP.NSF/sites/bf) Grant Recipient: City of Moscow,ID (208)883-7600 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-10-170 April 2010 ------- |