I JBt | Brownfields 2004 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
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 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. The target area for this grant is the
Northwest Illinois Economic Development Region, a
6,430-square-mile, ten-county region with a combined
population of 506,100. The region is a mix of
metropolitan and rural areas. Two of its counties, Rock
Island and LaSalle, account for more than half of the
region's population and business establishments. Both
have significant minority populations. Although
manufacturing is still the single largest employment sector
in the region, accounting for 17 percent of the workforce,
the downturn in manufacturing during the 1980s and
1990s adversely affected the area, leaving behind many
brownfields. Assessing these sites will help the
communities focus their limited development resources
where the chance of success is greatest.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a
brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
used to identify, inventory, and select brownfields
sites from within the Northwest Illinois Economic
Development Region for further study. Funds will
also be used to facilitate site characterization
activities and lay the groundwork for a sustainable
development plan.
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/R5Brownfiel ds)
Grant Recipient: Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity
(312)814-6195
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity
(217) 524-5336
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-04-230
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	June 2004
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

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