I JBt \ Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet 'w1' Cuyahoga County, 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. 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 Cuyahoga County was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Cuyahoga County (population 1,393,978) is Ohio's most populous county, and includes Cleveland, whose east side is a federally designated Empowerment Zone. The county's unemployment rate is 9.8 percent, and 15 percent of residents live in poverty. There are at least 4,600 acres of brownfields in the county, predominantly affecting the urban core, where most of the county's low-income residents live. Many of the brownfields are large and blighted and are negatively impacting property values. The county anticipates that demand for brownfields cleanup will continue to grow, especially in the more urbanized areas of the county. Brownfields redevelopment will improve market values of adjacent properties and generate property tax revenues to provide basic services for residents. Redevelopment also will create and retain jobs, and leverage additional investment in the county. Assessment Grants $200,000 for hazardous substances $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected Cuyahoga County for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to perform four to six Phase I and five to six Phase II environmental site assessments throughout the county. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform three to five Phase I and three to five Phase II environmental site assessments throughout the county. Funds also will be used for community outreach activities, risk assessments, and preparation of cleanup plans. 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: Cuyahoga County,OH (216) 443-8064 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-06-130 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2006 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |