Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Kenosha, WI

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 petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Kenosha for a brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach, inventory sites, and perform Phase I and II environmental site assessments.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Kenosha was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in the southeast corner of Wisconsin, Kenosha (population 93,798) has a long history of heavy manufacturing, with a concentration of automotive, tool production, and metal processing industries. Following the early 1980s recession, a sizeable part of this industrial base closed or down-sized. As of September 2005, Kenosha had the fifth highest unemployment rate in the state, and its poverty rate is 9.5 percent. Its manufacturing history has led to abandoned factory sites with blighted and dilapidated buildings or vacant lots, including 365 brownfields. Many of the larger brownfields sites are grouped in clusters, which are typically surrounded by residential properties. These areas are economically stressed, and many of the residences mirror the poor condition of the abandoned industrial sites. Brownfields redevelopment will help Kenosha move from heavy manufacturing to a more high-tech, service-oriented economy. It will build the tax base, create jobs, increase property values, and create greenspace.

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 Kenosha, WI
262-653-4055

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