Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

South Bend, IN

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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of South Bend for a cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used for cleanup of the former Studebaker Stamping Plant, which has been used as a lumber-storage yard for wagons, and for automobile manufacturing. Now vacant and owned by the city, the site is contaminated with chlorinated solvents that are polluting the groundwater. Cleanup plans include use of an innovative in situ chemical oxidation technology for remediation of contaminants below ground.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of South Bend was selected for a brownfields cleanup grant. South Bend was a major manufacturing center through the mid-Twentieth Century. Following a decline in the local industrial economy, many properties became underutilized and were abandoned. Nearly half of the residents living in the area near the brownfields site are Hispanic and 28 percent have incomes below the poverty level, compared to 8.5 percent citywide. The site is located in the heart of South Bend's industrial core. Following remediation, the city anticipates new construction of a light industrial park, with private investment of $46 million and creation of 1,750 new jobs over the next 15 years. This revitalization is expected to dramatically improve the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods by removing a crumbling scar from the city's skyline and restoring an additional 44 acres to productive use.

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 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of South Bend, IN
574-235-9371

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of South Bend has received brownfields funding for an assessment grant.

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