Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Rock Island, IL

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

$100,000 for hazardous substances
$100,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Rock Island for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach activities, perform Phase I and II environmental site assessments on properties identified in the city's brownfields database, and develop cleanup plans for sites within the city.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Rock Island was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Rock Island (population 39,684) is located in western Illinois along the Mississippi River. The city has identified 48 brownfields ranging from small city lots to large industrial complexes. Twenty-two of these are petroleum sites. More than 70 percent of the brownfields sites are in two census tracts that represent the city's oldest and poorest neighborhoods. The poverty rates in these tracts are 23.6 and 38 percent, as compared to 10.7 percent statewide. Over 70 percent of the residents in these two census tracts are minorities, and the median household incomes are 37 and 51 percent of the state's median income. Assessment and eventual cleanup of the sites will eliminate neighborhood blight and help protect the environment, including the Mississippi River, a source of drinking water for the city. The city will offer tax incentives to brownfields developers and has re-zoned several abandoned industrial areas, especially along the riverfront. Redevelopment will attract private investment, create jobs, increase tax revenues, and add greenspace to Rock Island.

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 Rock Island, IL
309-732-2920

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