Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Fairmont, WV

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 GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Fairmont for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach activities, inventory and rank sites, perform from four to five Phase I and from one to three Phase II environmental site assessments, and develop remedial alternatives and cost estimates for one or two parcels. Petroleum funds will be used to conduct community outreach activities, inventory and rank sites, perform from six to eight Phase I and from four to eight Phase II environmental site assessments, and develop remedial alternatives and cost estimates for four to six sites that may be contaminated with petroleum. Assessments will be conducted on sites within the Fairmont city limits.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Fairmont was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Fairmont (population 19,097) is located at the confluence of the West Fork and Tygart Valley Rivers in northwestern West Virginia. These rivers meet to form the Monongahela River. The rivers helped power the industrial boom that began in the mid-1800s and revolved around coal, gas, and oil production. Since the 1960s, the city has suffered the same steady decline that is typical of many old industrial areas in the United States. Today, Fairmont's industrial heritage includes factory sites that operate with skeleton crews in underutilized space, and hulking, empty factories that are deteriorating from neglect. These sites account for over 40 acres of prime urban property. Since the 1980s, the city has lost nearly 20 percent of its population. With the loss of jobs and residents, the retail industry has deteriorated, and the housing market has stagnated. Assessment of properties in these areas will allow Fairmont to address potential environmental issues and eliminate the perceived obstacles to redevelopment. The city anticipates that returning these brownfields sites to productive reuse will provide jobs during and after redevelopment, promote investment in surrounding residential areas, and generally improve the image and identity of Fairmont.

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 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3129
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

Grant Recipient: City of Fairmont, WV
304-366-6211

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