Brownfields Training, Research,
and Technical Assistance Grant
Fact Sheet

U.S. Conference of Mayors

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, tribes, 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. EPA funds eligible applicants through assistance agreements to provide training, research, and technical assistance to facilitate brownfields revitalization.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the United States today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its mayor. USCM works to promote the development of effective national urban/suburban policy, strengthen federal-city relationships, ensure that federal policy meets urban needs, provide mayors with leadership and management tools, and create a forum in which mayors can share ideas and information. The Conference of Mayors has worked on the issue of brownfields since 1993 when EPA announced the first round of its brownfield pilot grants.

RESEARCH, BEST PRACTICES, AND JOB TRAINING PILOT

Grantee
U.S. Conference of Mayors

Project Focus:
Research and Technical Assistance for Local Governments

Project Period:
October 2005 to September 2008

Project Description:
USCM published Recycling America's Land: A National Report on Brownfields Redevelopment, Volume 7 in May 2006. The purpose of this report is to compile information from the nation's cities on the status of brownfields and the impact these properties have on communities. The report was based on voluntary responses to questions from USCM's annual questionnaire provided from over 200 cities representing 41 different states and territories. USCM also published Best Practices in Brownfields Redevelopment: A Collection of Case Studies, Volume 2. The report catalogued brownfield redevelopment success stories throughout the nation, and included the site history, the type of contamination, how the project was financed, the type of redevelopment that occurred, and it explored the aspects that made the project successful. Additionally, USCM expanded its National Brownfields database and web site, and created a brownfields e-mail and list serve, which allows Brownfield Coordinators and City Planners to e-mail fellow City Brownfield Staff through a single address.

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: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields or call 202.566.2777.

For further information about the USCM and its brownfields activities visit: http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/home.asp or call 202.293.7330.

*The information on this fact sheet is subject to change.