Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Gary, 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

$100,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Gary for a brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to inventory brownfields sites, perform up to ten Phase I and ten Phase II environmental site assessments, and conduct community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Gary was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Steel and other industrial operations gave rise to Gary's economy and attracted many immigrants seeking employment in these industries. The majority of Gary's seven-mile shoreline on Lake Michigan was taken up by U.S. Steel, the dominant industry in Gary. With the industrial downsizing of the last 20 years, Gary (population 102,746) has lost jobs, population, and tax revenues. About 84 percent of Gary residents are African-American and, of these, 34 percent live in poverty. There are hundreds of brownfields with wide-ranging contamination in Gary. Assessment of brownfields will allow the city, development partners, and residents to more effectively plan, inventory, prioritize, and assess sites that can revitalize Gary's urban core in four major anchor areas. Redevelopment is expected to create job opportunities and contribute to the restoration of lakeshore natural areas.

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 Gary, IN
219-882-3000

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.