Brownfields 2011 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Elizabeth, NJ
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 Elizabeth was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in northern New
Jersey in the predominantly urban Union County,
Elizabeth (population  125,000) was once a thriving
industrial city. In the 1970s, the city began losing
manufacturing jobs and experienced an associated decline
in the quality of many residential neighborhoods. The city
will conduct assessments in the Neighborhood Tax Credit
District and the Midtown Urban Redevelopment Area.
These areas are in the city's central business  district,
which includes the historic Midtown Train Station and
one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in
Elizabeth. Twenty-five percent of households in this
neighborhood live below the national poverty level. The
unemployment rate for the city is estimated to be almost
13 percent, with higher rates in the target areas.
Brownfield assessments are expected to enable the city to
move forward with plans for transit-oriented
redevelopment of its downtown and creation of an
Elizabeth River Trail.
                     Assessment Grants

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

                     EPA has selected the City of Elizabeth for two
                     brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     conduct six Phase I and two Phase II
                     environmental site assessments. Petroleum grant
                     funds will be used to conduct six Phase I and four
                     Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant
                     funds also will be used for cleanup planning and
                     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 2 Brownfields Team
                     (212) 637-3260
                     EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/region2/bro wnfields)

                     Grant Recipient: City of Elizabeth,NJ
                     908-820-4160

                     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-128-020
       May 2011

-------