A \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Clearwater, FL 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 City of Clearwater was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Clearwater (population 107,000) is located on Florida's west-central coast on the Gulf of Mexico. Clearwater's Brownfields Area (CBA) (population 13,799) is the oldest section in the city. It covers 1,842 acres and includes over 250 sites. More than 100 of these sites contain reported contamination. The CBA was once a thriving business community. Private disinvestment and environmental decline have left behind abandoned lands tainted by former gas stations, dry cleaning facilities, print shops, and other industries. Today, the CBA is home to the city's lowest income community, which also has the highest concentration of minorities. More than 17 percent of CBA families live below the poverty level. African-Americans and Hispanics make up 32.4 and 27.2 percent of area residents, respectively. Brownfield assessments are expected to allow the city to deliver resources to promote environmental justice in the CBA and emphasize redevelopment of brownfield sites for affordable housing. Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances (Recovery Act Funding) $200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act Funding) EPA has selected the City of Clearwater for two brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct about 28 Phase I and 8 Phase II environmental site assessments, and conduct cleanup planning. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities and implement a public health monitoring 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 4 Brownfields Team (404) 562-8792 EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf) Grant Recipient: City of Clearwater,FL (727) 562-4054 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-09-167 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2009 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |