Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
                           . FL
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 Plant City was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Plant City (population
29,915) has a long agricultural history that began with the
cotton industry. The targeted Community Redevelopment
Area (CRA) covers almost half of the city's acreage and is
estimated to contain at least 20 brownfields. These old,
deteriorating, and vacant sites include closed automobile
service stations, dry cleaners, lumber yards, and fertilizer
distribution facilities. The minority populations in the
CRA neighborhoods range from 44.5 to 77 percent, and
16.2 to 29.7 percent of families in these neighborhoods
live below the poverty level. The CRA also has a high
unemployment rate. Brownfield assessments will allow
the city to identify contaminated areas, determine
appropriate  site reuse, and provide leverage needed to
attract private investment for redevelopment projects.
                     Assessment Grants

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

                     EPA has selected the City of Plant City for two
                     brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                     hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                     develop an inventory of sites and conduct 10
                     Phase I and 3 Phase II environmental site
                     assessments in the city's Community
                     Redevelopment Area. Grant funds also will be
                     used to support 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: City of Plant City,FL
                     (813)659-4209

                     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-09-201
      May 2009

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