I JBt \ Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
\ c/ Tuscaloosa, AL
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. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into
law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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 Tuscaloosa was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Tuscaloosa (population
77,906), located southwest of the City of Birmingham, is
targeting the contiguous Black Warrior Riverfront
Development and the Tuscaloosa Downtown Urban
Renewal and Redevelopment areas for assessment. It has
been said that the City of Tuscaloosa was designed with
its back to the Black Warrior River. The riverfront area, a
historically industrial area, has been neglected for several
years. It is the location of many active and abandoned
industrial facilities. In the downtown area, blight,
economic concerns, and joblessness are reflected in the 58
percent of neighborhood buildings that are in poor
condition and the 25 percent that are either vacant or
underutilized. Assessment of the city's brownfields sites
will encourage residents to participate in a process that
will help ensure sustainable reuse of contaminated
properties in their communities. The plan for the
downtown area includes a federal courthouse with a plaza
and park linking it to City Hall and other retail, office,
and residential areas. The plan for the riverfront area
includes a hotel and convention complex, commercial and
residential space, recreational facilities, and greenspace.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Tuscaloosa for a
brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
funds will be used to inventory and prioritize sites,
conduct community outreach activities, and
perform from four to nine Phase I and from three
to five Phase II environmental site assessments in
the Tuscaloosa Downtown Urban Renewal and
Redevelopment areas, and the Black Warrior
Riverfront Development area. Funds also will be
used to monitor health effects related to the
assessed properties.
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 Tuscaloosa,AL
(205) 349-0160
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 560-F-06-071
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	May 2006
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

-------