Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Maryland Department of General Services, Baltimore, MD

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 GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Maryland Department of General Services for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the 3700 Potee Street site in Baltimore, which is contaminated with PCBs, metals, and pesticides. The site has been used as a junkyard, used car sales lot, and automobile repair facility. Grant funds will be used to excavate and dispose of contaminated soil, implement engineering and institutional controls, and conduct community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Maryland Department of General Services was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The Department (state population 5,296,486) has targeted a site in Baltimore. Industrialization of Baltimore occurred in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, with industrial facilities typically surrounded by densely developed residential neighborhoods. A declining industrial base has left large tracts of blighted real estate in residential neighborhoods. Today, 64 percent of city residents are African-American, and 56 large brownfields in the city comprise an estimated 1,016 to 2,400 acres. The target site is located in the Brooklyn-Fairfield neighborhood, which is adversely impacted by a concentration of chemical manufacturing and petroleum storage facilities. The per capita income of this neighborhood is 57 percent of the state average, and nearly 22 percent of neighborhood families live below the poverty level. Cleanup of the target site will allow for its redevelopment into a mix of commercial and residential uses. The community has requested that the site be considered as the location for a supermarket and other commercial uses that would complement an adjoining commercial area.

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 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3129
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Maryland Department of General Services, MD
410-837-9310, ext. 317

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