I ^ | Brownfields 2004 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet \ c/ Meeting Street, Providence, Rl 4t PRO**' 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 ) ------- |