Brownfields  2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District,
               Columbus, OH
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 Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park
District (Metro Parks) was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Metro Parks serves seven
central Ohio counties, including Franklin County
(population 1,095,662). The target site is in Columbus, in
Franklin County. Columbus" downtown area (population
10,178) lies in the Southern Tier of Whittier Peninsula,
which consists of 80 acres of former industrial land.
Historical operations on the peninsula included a foundry,
railroad maintenance yard, and automotive parts painting
facility. Former operations at the target site  included a
concrete facility, scrap yard, and steel mill. The peninsula
is a migratory bird stop from Central and South America
that attracts tourists and bird-watchers. Assessment of the
target site is a critical first step in facilitating Metro Parks"
plans to redevelop the site with new environmental
education facilities and greenspace.
                     Assessment Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected the Columbus and Franklin
                     County Metropolitan Park District for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Site-specific
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     perform a Phase I environmental site assessment
                     update and a Phase II environmental site
                     assessment of the Columbus Impound Lot at 400
                     West Whittier Street, Columbus. Grant funds also
                     will be used to develop a cleanup plan and
                     conduct 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: Columbus and Franklin County
                     Metropolitan Park District,OH
                     (614)895-6202

                     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-10-119
      April 2010

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