Brownfields  2011  Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
    *          Ramsey County, MN
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

Ramsey County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Founded in 1849, Ramsey County
(population 500,000) is home to the City of Saint Paul, the
state capital. It is the state's smallest county in land area
and has the second largest population, making it
Minnesota's most densely populated county. With its
?twin city? Minneapolis, Saint Paul has served as a
prominent business hub for the Upper Midwest. As the
county population grew, so did business and overall
development in the city's suburbs. These former rural
areas once served as dumping grounds for industrial waste
and debris. During the last four years, a large number of
manufacturing and other businesses have closed or
relocated. Foreclosures have increased 427 percent during
the past five years. There are more than 4,000 sites of
potential environmental concern in the county. A
disproportionate number of minority residents live in
neighborhoods near older, industrial areas  where the
majority of brownfields are located. Assessment of
brownfields will identify threats posed by  sites and is
expected to create incentives for redevelopment.
                     Assessment Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected Ramsey County for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct a brownfields inventory and perform 10
                     Phase I and five Phase II environmental site
                     assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
                     develop two cleanup plans and support
                     community outreach activities. Assessments will
                     focus on the inner-ring suburbs on the north edge
                     of the City of Saint Paul.
                     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: Ramsey County,MN
                     (651)266-8025

                     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-128-089
       May 2011

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