f O W | Brownfields 2015 Area-Wide Planning Grant Fact Sheet Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 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 clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through competitive grant programs for brownfields site assessment, site cleanup, revolving loan funds, area-wide planning, and job training. Additional funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program assists communities in responding to local brownfields challenges, particularly where multiple brownfield sites are in close proximity, connected by infrastructure, and limit the economic, environmental and social prosperity of their surroundings. This program enhances EPA's core brownfields assistance programs by providing grant funding to communities so they can perform the research needed to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategies for brownfields assessment, cleanup, and reuse. The resulting area-wide plans provide direction for future brownfields area improvements that are protective of public health and the environment, economically viable, and reflective of the community's vision for the area. Project Description $200,000.00 EPA has selected Temple University as a Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant recipient. The university will work with the community and other stakeholders to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the Kensington Neighborhood. The neighborhood exemplifies the cumulative detrimental effects of a formerly industrial area: a distressed community left behind with significant economic, social, public health, and environmental justice concerns. The grant will be used to develop a plan that will address the community's concerns and develop an implementation plan for brownfield site assessment, cleanup, and reuse. The grant will enable the city to conduct research into existing conditions, carry out community outreach and visioning activities, and hold community design workshops and charrettes. The outcomes of this project will serve as a base for discussion with city agencies and property owners about future uses of brownfield sites. These discussions are expected to allow project partners to pair developable land with uses that can directly benefit the community, such as local retail, subsidized space for job training and computer literacy service providers, and raised urban agriculture to increase healthy food access. Key partners who will work with the university on this project include the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, Econsult Solutions, Inc., Re:Vision Architecture, Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, Conrail, SEPTA Police Department, Community Center at Visitation, Temple Community and Regional Planning, Temple Department of Landscape United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-15-009 March 2015 ------- Agriculture and Horticulture, and Pennsylvania Environmental Council. 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 3 Brownfields Team (215)814-3129 EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfie lds-and-land-revitalization-delaware-mar yland-pennsylvania-Virginia-west) Grant Recipient: Temple University, PA (267) 468-8314 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 and Emergency Response (5105T) Solid Waste EPA 560-F-15-009 March 2015 ------- |