Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Custer County, ID

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.

CLEANUP GRANTS

$339,840 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for two brownfields cleanup grants. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Beardsley-Excelsior Mine and Pacific Mine sites in the Historic Bayhorse Mining District of Custer County. These sites are former ore mines that are contaminated with heavy metals as a result of mining technologies used in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Funds also will be used for community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation was selected to receive two brownfields cleanup grants. Idaho (population 1,466,465) will clean up two sites in Custer County (population 4,114), a rural mountainous region where the economy relies on ranching, mining, and tourism. The federal government owns 93 percent of the county, including federal wilderness, national forest, and national recreation areas. The county's brownfields are primarily abandoned mining lands, many of which have uncontrolled public access. They present a health risk to area residents and visitors and an environmental risk to surface water and aquatic life. While the state population grew by 10.4 percent from 2000 to 2005, the county lost 6.1 percent of its population. The median household income in the county is significantly lower than the state median. When the two target sites are cleaned up, they will become part of a planned state park that will include exhibits on the region's mining history, culture, and environment. This redevelopment will increase tourism and the demand for tourist-based facilities and create jobs.

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 10 Brownfields Team
206-553-7299
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/bf

Grant Recipient: Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
208-514-2256

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.