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Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet
Chicago, IL
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 this 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 Chicago for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct 10 Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments and evaluate sites for the Illinois Voluntary Cleanup Program. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The City of Chicago was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in northeastern Illinois, Chicago (population 2,895,964) includes a federally designated Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community. In 1993, the city created the Chicago Brownfields Initiative and has since returned more than 1,000 acres to productive use. Today, there are still at least 1,000 acres of brownfields in the city, ranging in size from a tenth of an acre to 50 acres. Most are located in former industrial areas or in communities with high rates of unemployment and poverty. The city's unemployment rate is 6.2 percent, and 63 percent of residents are African-American, Hispanic, or Latino. Assessment of brownfields is expected to help create momentum for cleanup funding and leverage investment for redevelopment.
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.
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site
Grant Recipient: City of Chicago, IL
312-744-9139
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.