Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Anderson, IN

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders 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 Anderson for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to inventory and prioritize brownfields, perform approximately four Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, and prepare cleanup plans for brownfields around the city. Funds also will be used to conduct community involvement activities and human health risk evaluations.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Anderson was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in east-central Indiana, Anderson (population 59,734) developed as a rail transportation hub in the mid-1800s with the arrival of the Indianapolis Bellafontaine Railroad. The city's population and economy exploded when manufacturers and other industrial and commercial operations opened. In 1918, General Motors opened a division headquarters in Anderson, making the city one of the leading electromechanical technology centers in the world. When this division reached its peak in the early 1970s, it had 27,000 employees in Anderson. Shortly thereafter, the number of jobs and the population of the city began to steadily decline. By 2000, Anderson lost more than 15 percent of its residents. Although the official poverty rate for Anderson is 13.4 percent, more than 35 census tracts within the city have poverty rates ranging from 72 to 91 percent. The unemployment rate is significantly higher than the national rate. Since Anderson's industries never were centralized in any one corridor or area of the city, its industrial properties are scattered throughout the community. Many of these brownfields are located next to residential neighborhoods, day care centers, parks, and senior housing facilities. More than 100 brownfields sites were preliminarily identified throughout the city. Areas of the city with higher poverty rates correlate with the locations of Anderson's largest brownfield areas. Redevelopment of the city's brownfields is expected to raise the quality of life for residents by creating new jobs and stimulating economic growth, while helping to bring a sense of community pride back to Anderson's 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 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Anderson, IN
765-648-6097

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