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. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
$800,000
EPA has selected the City of Rochester for a Brownfields Multipurpose Grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct a Phase II environmental site assessment at the Bull's Head Plaza on West Main Street and conduct a Phase II environmental site assessment and clean up at the 42 York Street property. The mostly vacant Bull's Head plaza was constructed as an auto-oriented commercial and retail shopping center in the 1950s and is contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and semi-volatile organic compounds. The 42 York Street property was previously developed with residential properties and parking areas; fill material historically deposited on the property is contaminated with heavy metals and SVOCs. The target area is the 185-acre area Bull's Head neighborhood, a key historic gateway to Rochester that has been a focus of the city's revitalization efforts with over a decade of community-based revitalization planning. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.