I ^ | Brownfields 2004 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
\ c/ Meeting Street, Providence, Rl
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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
Meeting Street was selected to receive a brownfields
cleanup grant. The 0.88-square-mile target community of
Lower South Providence (population 5,744), which is
isolated from the city by 1-95, is a federally designated
Enterprise Zone/Empowerment Zone with numerous
vacant lots and little recreational space. The median
household income is $16,857, less than two-thirds the city
median. Approximately 40 percent of the families in this
predominantly Hispanic and African-American
neighborhood live in poverty. According to the 1990
census, Lower South Providence had a 20 percent
unemployment rate. Cleanup of the target site will allow
for the construction of the Meeting Street National Center
for Excellence, a state-of-the-art campus that will serve
approximately 1,700 children and their families. The new
facility also will provide the neighborhood with a
community center and nearly three acres of greenspace. It
is anticipated to bring 369 new jobs, and increase
economic output and household earnings in the
community.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Meeting Street for a brownfields
cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up
five properties along Eddy and Haswell Streets
that comprise the seven-acre Meeting Street
National Center for Excellence site. The
properties are a mix of former residential and
commercial sites where the soil appears to be
contaminated with lead, arsenic, and other
hazardous substances.
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 1 Brownfields Team
(617) 918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/regionl/bro wnfields )
Grant Recipient: Meeting Street,RI
(401)438-9500 ext 3232
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-04-078
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	June 2004
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

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