Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Springfield, MO

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

$150,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Springfield for a brownfields assessment grant. The city will use grant funds to conduct Phase I assessments at approximately 12 sites within the 250-acre Jordan Valley Park. Four Phase II assessments will be conducted based on the Phase I results. These sites are among 574 brownfields identified during Springfield's first brownfields assessment pilot. Grant funds also will be used to involve the community in all aspects of the project.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Springfield was selected to receive an assessment grant. The city has targeted several developments in a former industrial corridor along Jordan Creek, population 7,244. The park is within the center city near Springfield's most disadvantaged areas, where 32 percent of residents live in poverty. The unemployment rate in the target area is more than double the citywide rate. The Jordan Creek Corridor once contained agricultural mills, lumber and coal yards, electroplating and metalworking facilities, and painting and print shops. These businesses moved away from the city center, leaving behind numerous brownfields that have contributed to the economic instability of the area. The assessment of the targeted sites will spur community efforts to convert more of the industrial park area into a community gathering place and network of greenways. The Jordan Valley Park Citizens Advisory Committee and the Brownfields Steering and Stakeholders Committee will continue to guide the redevelopment of properties in the area.

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 7 Brownfields Team
913-551-7786
http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brownfields/index.htm

Grant Recipient: City of Springfield, MO
417-864-1844

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of Springfield 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.