A \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments

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 Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments
was selected to receive a brownfields assessment
coalition grant. The Council's coalition partners are the
Cities of Grants and Farmington, the Village of Milan,
and McKinley County (combined population 207,154).
Northwest New Mexico has significant environmental
and human health concerns from former uranium and
coal mining operations, oil and gas exploration, and
leaking underground storage tanks. There are 48
abandoned uranium mines in McKinley County. The
county also contains three active and three abandoned
coal mines. Mining operations pose a continuing threat
to groundwater, a vital resource in this high desert
region. The perception of contamination throughout the
area has stifled economic development. The median
household income is less than the statewide average,
and one-third of the population lives in poverty. Over
60 percent of residents are minorities. Assessment of
brownfields is expected to enable the coalition to
effectively evaluate each site's potential for cleanup and
redevelopment.
Assessment Grant

$600,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$400,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Northwest New Mexico
Council of Governments for a brownfields
assessment coalition grant. Community-wide
hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
conduct 41 Phase I and 14 Phase II environmental
site assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used
to conduct 32 Phase I and 11 Phase II environmental
site assessments. Grant funds also will be used for
cleanup planning, health monitoring, and 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 6 Brownfields Team
(214) 665-6780
EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Northwest New Mexico Council of
Governments
(505) 722-4327
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.
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