Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

Barberton, OH

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, the President 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 Barberton for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to perform Phase I and Phase II assessments and asbestos assessments prior to demolition activities at a former high school. Funds will also be used for site reuse planning, cleanup planning, and a community information and outreach campaign.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Barberton was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Barberton is a working class community of 27,899 residents. The local economy was greatly dependent on heavy industry. During the 1970s, several major manufacturing plants closed and others scaled back production, resulting in the loss of more than 10,000 jobs. Presently, 13.3 percent of Barberton residents live below the poverty line and the city-wide unemployment rate is 6.5 percent. The brownfields target area is located in the lowest income area of the city, where 52 percent of residents live in poverty and 13 percent are unemployed. The City of Barberton is a federally designated Enterprise Zone, and it is estimated that brownfields account for 16.6 percent of the city's land area. The city plans to build a new senior/community center, public health clinic, and aquatics facility at the site of an unused former high school in downtown Barberton, rather than on the outer edge of the city. The city anticipates that this project will revitalize the central area of the city, bringing increased pedestrian traffic and encouraging further redevelopment of blighted downtown areas.

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: Barberton, OH
330-848-6729

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