Brownfields 2011  Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Knoxville, TN
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 Knoxville was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in the heart of
Appalachia in the valley between the  Cumberland
Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville
(population 185,106) will conduct assessments in the
Downtown North Redevelopment District. Knoxville's
past industries included textile mills, foundries, and
maintenance facilities served by its railroad connections.
Historically, these industries provided thousands of jobs.
Many once thriving industrial facilities are now idle and
abandoned. The movement of residents to the suburbs
contributed to a decline of downtown neighborhoods.
Today, the median household income in the Downtown
North area is $23,807, and 20.9 percent of residents live in
poverty. The city recently performed a brownfield
inventory in this area that identified an estimated 80
brownfields covering 136 acres, or about 25  percent of the
area. Brownfield assessments will allow the city to
identify  sites that could be suitable candidates for cleanup
and reuse.
                     Assessment Grants

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

                     EPA has selected the City of Knoxville for two
                     brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct five to seven Phase I and two to four
                     Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant
                     funds also will be used to conduct community
                     outreach and cleanup planning activities.
                     Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct the
                     same tasks at sites with potential petroleum
                     contamination.
                     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 Knoxville,TN
                     865-215-2543

                     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-128-063
       May 2011

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