]    Brownfields  2011  Cleanup  Grant Fact  Sheet
    ~          Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ
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 Gila River Indian Community was selected to receive
a brownfields cleanup grant. The Community is located in
south-central Arizona and has a population of 14,174
members of the Akimel O-odham (Pima) and Pee Posh
(Maricopa) Tribes. It is the fourth most populous
American Indian reservation in the  country and is made
up almost completely of federal trust land. Its economy
was agricultural in the early 1900s until surface water was
diverted to other areas. Today, the unemployment rate in
the Community is 34 percent, and the poverty rate is 49
percent. The per capita income is lower than the state and
national averages. The Community established three
industrial parks to diversify its economy, including the
park where the target site is located. When the Arizona
Tanning site is cleaned up, the Community plans to
redevelop it for business and industry space, including
possible solar panel manufacturing  and testing. Cleanup
and redevelopment of the target site are expected to
increase the potential for new industry and local jobs.
                     Cleanup Grant

                     $200,000 for hazardous substances

                     EPA has selected the Gila River Indian
                     Community for a brownfields cleanup grant.
                     Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     clean up the 40-acre former Arizona Tanning
                     Company facility on Highway 87, San Tan
                     Industrial Park, in Sacaton. The facility operated
                     from 1978 to 1991 and is contaminated with
                     chromium and inorganic substances.
                     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 9 Brownfields Team
                     415-972-3364
                     EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/region9/bro wnfields)

                     Grant Recipient: Gila River Indian Community,AZ
                     520-562-2234 ext 2225

                     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-128-115
       May 2011

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