O - Brownfields 2017 Area-Wide Planning Grant Fact Sheet Wilmington, DE 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. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through competitive grant programs for brownfields site assessment, site cleanup, revolving loan funds, area-wide planning, and job training. Additional funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program assists communities in responding to local brownfields challenges, particularly where multiple brownfield sites are in close proximity, connected by infrastructure, and limit the economic, environmental and social prosperity of their surroundings. This program enhances EPA's core brownfields assistance programs by providing grant funding to communities so they can perform the research needed to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategies for brownfields assessment, cleanup, and reuse. The resulting area-wide plans provide direction for future brownfields area improvements that are protective of public health and the environment, economically viable, and reflective of the community's vision for the area. Project Description $200,000.00 EPA has selected the City of Wilmington as a Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant recipient. The city will work with the community and other stakeholders to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the 100-acre Brandywine Riverfront Northeast project area. This former hub of industrial activity is now an underserved community with abandoned properties and low property values. The area's catalyst sites, including the Diamond State Salvage property and Wilmington Maintenance Yard, have the greatest potential to spur economic development because of their location along the Brandywine River and proximity to downtown Wilmington. The area-wide planning project will provide an opportunity to make substantial progress in an impoverished community with extensive social equity, environmental, and brownfields challenges. It will enable residents to develop a new vision for the neighborhood, address environmental issues, provide economic development to this urban waterfront area, and build the capacity needed to continue to address the social challenges facing residents. Key partners who will work with the city on this project include Old Brandywine Village, Inc., the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and four programs at the University of Delaware: the Center for Community Research and Service, Water Resources Agency, Small Business and Development Center, and Sea Grant College Program. Contacts United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-17-001C January 2017 ------- 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 3 Brownfields Team (215)814-3173 EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfie lds-and-land-revitalization-delaware-mar yland-pennsylvania-Virginia-west) Grant Recipient: City of Wilmington, DE (302) 576-3100 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 Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 and Emergency Response (5105T) Solid Waste EPA 560-F-17-001C January 2017 ------- |