I Q \ Brownfields 2008 Assessment and Cleanup
\^l^/ Grant Fact Sheet
%	Housing Authority of the City of East St. Louis, IL
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 Housing Authority of the City of East St. Louis
was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
Located directly across the Mississippi River from the
St. Louis Arch, a majority of East St. Louis (population
30,651) was designated a federal Empowerment Zone
and Enterprise Community in 1998. The city has lost
thousands of residents since 1959, when its population
peaked at 82,295. Shortly after this peak, the city's
manufacturing and transportation centers were
abandoned. The St. Louis metropolitan area
experienced growth through sprawl, and East St. Louis
experienced economic decline. In 2003, the city's
poverty rate was 36.7 percent, and 97.7 percent of its
residents are African-American. There are 80 vacant
commercial and industrial facilities within the city's
light industrial area alone and at least 13 additional
brownfields on more than 90 acres throughout the city.
Assessment of brownfields is expected to help expedite
the city's redevelopment efforts.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Housing Authority of the City
of East St. Louis for a brownfields assessment grant.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
prioritize sites and conduct up to six Phase I and up
to five 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 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http: //www. epa.gov/R5 Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Housing Authority of the City of
East St. Louis,IL
(618)646-7114
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-08-215
nil- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	Mar 08
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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