Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Homestead, FL

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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Homestead for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to remediate the 2.4-acre former Florida East Coast Railway corridor located in downtown Homestead. Arsenic contamination in the soil and groundwater is attributed to the use of pesticides and herbicides applied to suppress plant growth along the railroad tracks. The contamination poses a threat to drinking water supplies in the area.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Homestead was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Homestead (population 32,046) is located about 30 miles south of Miami. The city's economic base is grounded in agriculture and related businesses. The city's predominantly minority population is 39 percent Hispanic or Latino and 22 percent African-American. In addition, there are seasonal increases of primarily Latino migrant workers. The unemployment rate in this federally designated Empowerment Zone is 32 percent, and the median household income is 69 percent of the state median. The targeted cleanup property, in the heart of the downtown Homestead commercial neighborhood, is the last available site of its size in the area. Cleanup of this property will remove a potential threat to local drinking water supplies and facilitate the creation of over two acres of downtown greenway space. The greenway will afford easy access to the adjacent bus and future metrorail stops, support outdoor community events, and link bicycle and pedestrian trails to the Everglades National Park and the Biscayne Bay National Park.

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 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8684
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: City of Homestead, FL
305-224-4481

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