Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

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 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to identify, inventory, and select brownfields sites from within the Northwest Illinois Economic Development Region for further study. Funds will also be used to facilitate site characterization activities and lay the groundwork for a sustainable development plan.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. The target area for this grant is the Northwest Illinois Economic Development Region, a 6,430-square-mile, ten-county region with a combined population of 506,100. The region is a mix of metropolitan and rural areas. Two of its counties, Rock Island and LaSalle, account for more than half of the region's population and business establishments. Both have significant minority populations. Although manufacturing is still the single largest employment sector in the region, accounting for 17 percent of the workforce, the downturn in manufacturing during the 1980s and 1990s adversely affected the area, leaving behind many brownfields. Assessing these sites will help the communities focus their limited development resources where the chance of success is greatest.

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: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
312-814-6195

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