Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Wood County> °H
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

Wood County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment coalition grant. The county"s coalition
partners are the City of Northwood and the Northern
Wood County Port Authority. Located in northwestern
Ohio south of Toledo, Wood County (population
121,065) was once a major agricultural, industrial, and
transportation center. The county is still dependent on
agriculture and manufacturing, but these industries have
seen a sharp downturn in recent years. The county"s
unemployment rate of more than 11 percent  is higher than
the state and national averages. Wood County's tax base
has been significantly reduced due to job losses and the
presence of abandoned industrial and commercial sites.
The financial shortfalls facing Wood County and its
communities have limited the availability of resources
necessary to address brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment. Assessment of brownfields is expected to
provide information about site contamination, leverage
state and private funds for site cleanup, and catalyze
redevelopment.
                     Assessment Grant $250,000 for petroleum
                     EPA has selected Wood County for a brownfields
                     assessment coalition grant. Community-wide
                     petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct an
                     estimated 10 Phase I and seven to eight Phase II
                     environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
                     will be used to inventory sites, conduct cleanup
                     planning, 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 5 Brownfields Team
                     (312)886-7576
                     EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfiel ds)

                     Grant Recipient: Wood County,OH
                     419-352-7469

                     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-10-197
      April 2010

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