Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), Southeast Washington

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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances

EPA has selected the SouthEast Effective Development of Seattle for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Rainier Court Development Phase II site at 3634 33rd Avenue South, which is contaminated from widespread unregulated dumping since the 1930s. Former underground storage tanks, industrial wastes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will be cleaned up. When completed, the 7-acre site will be the area's largest community revitalization project in the last 20 years featuring mixed-use redevelopment.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The SouthEast Effective Development of Seattle was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The target area, Rainier Valley, is Seattle's most diverse neighborhood with 60 different ethnic and cultural groups. The area encompasses 15 percent of Seattle's land area and 75,000 people. Seventy-three percent of the residents are non-white, and 16 percent of the households are single-parent households (compared to 6.2 percent city-wide). The area has the region's largest concentration of children. Unemployment is estimated at 13 percent compared to 7.2 percent for the state, and 15-20 percent of the residents receive food stamps. The redevelopment area is a federally recognized Enterprise Community. Cleanup will result in a mixed-use development of affordable housing and jobs, and catalyze local reinvestment.

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 10 Brownfields Team
206-553-2100
www.epa.gov/r10earth, click on "Superfund," scroll down to "Related Programs" and click on "Brownfields"

Grant Recipient: SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), WA
206-760-4261

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