Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Tucson, AZ

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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

$75,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Tucson for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funding will be used to perform Phase II assessments at a former petroleum storage and distribution center, a bus terminal and maintenance site, and a former landfill, all of which are potentially contaminated with petroleum. The sites are all located within the Rio Nuevo Downtown Redevelopment Project area.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Tucson for a brownfields cleanup grant of $200,000. Grant funds will be used to conduct cleanup activities at the 35 E. Toole Avenue site. Contamination at the site includes petroleum in the soil and groundwater stemming from past fueling activities. The site will be redeveloped into artist studios, galleries, retail shops, and housing commensurate with the historic area.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Tucson was selected to receive assessment and cleanup grants. The city is focusing on the Rio Nuevo Downtown Redevelopment Project area, which will restore and preserve the area's unique cultural and historic roots. The area encompasses many brownfields, including a warehouse district, rail yard, vacant and abandoned inner-city structures, and long-neglected and closed landfills. Most of the area lies within a designated federal Empowerment Zone. The downtown area has a significantly higher concentration of minority residents and a one-third higher unemployment rate than the city as a whole. The areas targeted by these grants are critical components of the citizen-mandated Rio Nuevo Heart of the City Redevelopment Project, which was established to revitalize the city core and redevelop brownfields on the banks of the Santa Cruz River.

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 9 Brownfields Team
415-972-3188
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/

Grant Recipient: City of Tucson, AZ
520-791-5414

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of Tucson has received brownfields funding for assessment grants.

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