Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Cohoes, NY

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 GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Cohoes for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach activities, perform up to four Phase I and up to three Phase II environmental site assessments, and develop end-use and cleanup design plans for sites in two targeted areas of the city, the main routes of access to the downtown business district and the waterfronts along the city's two rivers. Petroleum funding will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Cohoes was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Cohoes (population 15,521) is located in the northeastern portion of Albany County at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Founded in the 1700s as a Dutch farming community, the city was transformed into an industrial center in the 1800s because of its proximity to the Hudson River and Erie Canal, which allowed efficient transportation, and the Mohawk River, which provided water power. The majority of local industry was related to textile manufacturing. As the textile factories became obsolete or non-competitive, the waterfronts and the main gateway to the city's downtown business district were abandoned, leaving behind vacant and underutilized properties and the threat of contamination. At the same time, Cohoes' population declined, further impacting the tax base, jobs, business development, and housing. More than 30 percent of the residents who remained in the neighborhoods around the waterfronts and the main routes accessing downtown live at or below the poverty level. Redevelopment of the sites along the waterfronts for recreational, residential, and appropriate commercial use will result in one of the premier waterfronts in the Albany region. Brownfields redevelopment will help protect human health and the environment, increase the local tax base, and facilitate job creation in the region.

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 2 Brownfields Team
212-637-4314
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/brownfields/

Grant Recipient: City of Cohoes, NY
518-233-2118

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