Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Arlington, TX

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 Arlington for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to develop a preliminary inventory of brownfields sites, support community involvement activities, and conduct up to 35 Phase I environmental site assessments, and as many Phase II environmental site assessments as possible. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Arlington was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. For decades, Arlington (population 362,393), which is between Dallas and Fort Worth, has been home to large-scale industrial and manufacturing operations, most notably in the central and east sectors of the city. When these areas reached capacity about 30 years ago, development began to shift to other parts of the city. A current land use analysis shows that the central and east sectors contain about 16 percent of the city's total vacant land. Because many brownfields in these sectors are less than three acres in size, developers have tended to show less interest in them. About 50 percent of the residents in central and east Arlington are minorities, and unemployment in central Arlington is nearly nine percent. Assessment of brownfields will enable the city to create specific redevelopment plans as part of its overall economic strategy to attract new jobs, increase the tax base, and open new businesses, shops, and restaurants in the neighborhoods impacted by brownfields.

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 6 Brownfields Team
214-665-6780
http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

Grant Recipient: City of Arlington, TX
817-459-6652

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.