Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Freshwater Land Trust, Jefferson County, AL

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 Freshwater Land Trust for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to inventory and select brownfield sites for assessment, and to conduct Phase I and II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Freshwater Land Trust was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in central Alabama, the Freshwater Land Trust established the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership, which includes the communities of Center Point, Birmingham, Tarrant, Fultondale, Brookside, and Graysville (combined population 340,000). These communities are located along Five Mile Creek, which has been described in local newspaper articles as the most polluted stream in Alabama. The communities have a long history of industrial and mining activities that pre-date environmental regulations. Many of the abandoned operations have left behind sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Brownfields assessment will help the Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership achieve its goals of creating a greenway along Five Mile Creek and improving water quality. This will contribute to the economic revitalization of communities located along the creek by encouraging capital investment in these communities.

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
404-562-8792
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Freshwater Land Trust, AL
205-214-8613

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.