Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
    ™          Upper Cumberland Development District, 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 Upper Cumberland Development District was
selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants.
The District consists of 14 counties in the rural Upper
Cumberland region (population 305,000) of Tennessee.
The largest employment sectors in the region historically
included manufacturing, mining, and construction. The
decline in these sectors has left the area with skeleton
buildings and abandoned and idled factories, mines, and
mills. These properties are barriers to economic growth in
the area. The number of people living below the poverty
level in the District is about 30 percent higher than the
national rate. The median  household income is
significantly lower than the national median. In the past
seven years alone, the region has lost 8,000
manufacturing jobs. Brownfield assessments will clarify
the presence of contamination and address potential
threats to human health and the environment posed by
sites. Assessments will help the region move forward with
cleanup and redevelopment plans that are expected to
catalyze revitalization.
                     Assessment Grants

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

                     EPA has selected the Upper Cumberland
                     Development District for two brownfields
                     assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous
                     substances grant funds will be used to inventory
                     and prioritize sites and conduct at least 20 Phase I
                     and 5 Phase II environmental site assessments.
                     Grant funds also will be used for community
                     outreach activities. Petroleum grant funds will be
                     used to perform 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: Upper Cumberland Development
                     District,™
                     (931)432-4111

                     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 560-F-09-252
      May 2009

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