Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Portland, ME

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 GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Portland for a brownfields assessment grant. The grant will fund eight Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments, associated remediation planning, and reuse planning on the Portland Peninsula. The grant will facilitate public participation and community outreach among residents. A portion of the grant will be used to identify pre-school children with elevated blood lead levels and asthma, and identify high-risk neighborhoods.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Portland was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Portland (population 64,249) is the most densely developed and populated city in the state. Already a recipient of EPA brownfields grants, Portland is expanding its brownfields program into the Portland Peninsula, the oldest and most urban part of the city. Surrounded on three sides by Casco Bay, the Portland Peninsula contains a mix of maritime, industrial, commercial, and residential uses. While this proximity of uses allows residents to live close to work, many contaminated properties pose concerns to public health. The peninsula thrived during the 19th and early 20th Centuries as an important maritime and industrial center. With changes in the regional economy and the flight of residents and businesses to the suburbs, the inner city is home to some of the city's most vulnerable residents, including a majority of the city's poor and a majority of its immigrants. Lead poisoning and asthma have been identified as concerns for children in the neighborhoods. As part of the city's comprehensive planning effort, the revitalization of the peninsula will attract new investment, provide a cleaner and healthier environment for residents, enhance community trails and open spaces, and increase the city's tax revenues by attracting more and healthier businesses to the inner city.

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 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1221
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Portland, ME
207-874-8725

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