Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct community involvement activities, perform approximately six Phase I and II site assessments, and develop cleanup plans for sites in targeted redevelopment areas of the four-county Treasure Coast Region.

REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT

$750,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council for a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund from which the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council will provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with petroleum in targeted redevelopment areas of the four-county Treasure Coast Region.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant and a revolving loan fund grant. The Treasure Coast Region (total population 1,679,011) encompasses the Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties of Florida. Most of the region's approximately 1,300 potentially contaminated sites are in low-income areas with high rates of unemployment and poverty. In some of the more acute areas, the poverty rates exceed 35 percent, and per capita income is less than $10,000. The Council will work with the communities where the need is most acute and the local government resources are limited. Assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites will help protect the health of community residents, and spur redevelopment and revitalization in the area. Redevelopment is expected to bring jobs and private sector investment back to the brownfields neighborhoods.

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: Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, FL
772-221-4060

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