I w f Brownfields 2005 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Independence, MO
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 Independence was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Independence (population
113,288) is a town with a rich history from the days of the
frontier trails, through the Civil War, and as the home of
President Harry Truman and the Truman Presidential
Library. It is also a city with an urban core dotted with
vacant lots and blighted, abandoned structures, and an
aging and increasingly low-to-moderate income
population. Brownfields are contributing to the
deterioration of the neighborhood and general
disinvestment in the area. They pose potential health risks
to the community and represent lost tax revenues needed
to provide services to the residents of the area.
Assessment of brownfields sites will allow the city to
move forward with its vision to promote a vibrant
downtown area in a manner that will reduce pollution and
resource consumption and promote economic
revitalization. This revitalization is expected to bring new
jobs and an increase in tourism and retail shopping in the
area.
Assessment Grant
$25,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Independence for a
brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
used to conduct community outreach activities,
inventory and select sites, and perform three Phase
I environmental site assessments on sites in the
city's urban core.
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 7 Brownfields Team
(800) 223-0425
EPA Region 7 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region7/cle anup/brownfields
)
Grant Recipient: City of Independence,MO
(816)325-7397
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-05-122
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	May 2005
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

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