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Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Upper Explorerland Regional Planning
Commission, Northeast Iowa
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
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into
law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The
Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our
economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law
provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to
award grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial
and commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide
financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving
loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Community Description
The Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission
(UERPC) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. The UERPC is a regional planning
agency that serves five predominantly rural counties
(combined population 86,603) in northeast Iowa. Since
1999, 15 major businesses have either closed or
downsized, resulting in the loss of nearly 1,200 jobs.
Many of these businesses were manufacturing operations
where the use of petroleum products was part of the
production process, including gas stations, railroad
facilities, and equipment service facilities. The UERPC
estimates that there are about 25 to 35 petroleum
brownfields within the five counties. In addition, 200 of
the over 300 miles of rail that crossed the five-county area
are now abandoned, leaving unused bulk fuel oil and
petroleum facilities in many communities. The median per
capita income in all five counties is significantly lower
than the state and national averages. Brownfield
assessments are expected to help break down the initial
barrier that stigmatizes the sites, and encourage renewed
investment in the area.

Assessment Grant
$200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Upper Explorerland Regional
Planning Commission for a brownfields
assessment grant. Community-wide petroleum
grant funds will be used to conduct 10 to 11 Phase
I and 5 to 6 Phase II environmental site
assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
support community outreach activities.
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: Upper Explorerland Regional
Planning Commission,IA
(563) 864-7551
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-09-142
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	May 2009
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

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