Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Ellsworth, ME

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Ellsworth for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments at sites in the 22-acre downtown Waterfront area, located along the Union River. Grant funds also will be used to involve the community in setting priorities for the city's brownfields redevelopment program.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Ellsworth was selected to receive an assessment grant. The city has targeted several sites in the downtown Waterfront area along the Union River. Ellsworth (population 6,500) was once a center of shipbuilding and port activities. The city now has a retail and service-based economy that relies largely on summer tourism. The city's unemployment rate drops in the summer but rises to about 9 percent during the winter months. More than 38 percent of residents have low to moderate incomes, and the city's median household income is lower than state and nationwide averages. The assessment of waterfront brownfields will help the city attract investment in its downtown area, curb increasing sprawl, and create more diverse living-wage jobs for its residents. The City Council has established the Ellsworth Waterfront Plan Implementation Committee, which will involve the community throughout this project.

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 at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1210
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Ellsworth, ME
207-667-2563

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of Ellsworth has not received brownfields grant funding.

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.