Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Houston, TX

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 Houston for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I and II site assessments, develop cleanup plans, and compile a site inventory throughout the city, which is estimated to have from 500 to several thousand brownfield sites. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination. Houston has 6,603 registered petroleum storage tanks and 2,717 leaking petroleum storage tank sites. There also are numerous active and abandoned oil fields and miles of pipelines. Funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Houston was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Houston (population 1,953,631) has a minority population that exceeds 67 percent. A 20-square-mile portion of the city is a federally designated Enhanced Enterprise Community. Houston has thousands of manufacturing facilities, industrial plants, and businesses that support the chemical and petroleum industries. These include chemical plants, refineries, oil fields, and a transportation system consisting of rail lines, rail yards, truck depots, pipelines, and pipeline terminals. A history of poor handling and disposal practices at these facilities created hundreds of brownfields. The city is home to 37 federal Superfund sites, 2,717 leaking underground storage tank sites, 85 unpermitted closed landfills, and 1,374 registered closed service stations. In addition, the population exceeds the state and national percentages of children under the age of five, adults without a high school diploma, people with disabilities, and residents living below the poverty line. Brownfields redevelopment will have a positive impact on property values, generate tax revenues, create jobs and greenspace, leverage additional redevelopment investment, and improve the quality of life for city residents.

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 6 Brownfields Team
214-665-6736
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm

Grant Recipient: City of Houston, TX
713-837-9020

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