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Brownfields
2009 Cleanup
Grant
Fact Sheet
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Custer County, ID
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. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country cleanup and revitalize brownfields sites. 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.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Skylark Mine in the Historic Bayhorse Mining District of Custer County. The 34.4-acre site was formerly used for mining and smelting and is contaminated with arsenic and metals from mining technologies used in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Grant funds also will be used to conduct a historical assessment of the site and support community involvement activities.
Community Description
The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The target site is in Custer County (population 4,180), a rural, mountainous region that relies on ranching, mining, and tourism as its main resources. The county contains much of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the Salmon River, and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Brownfields in the county are primarily abandoned mining lands that comprise several thousand acres. The county's population decreased 3.7 percent between 2000 and 2006, and the median household income is below the state median. Approximately 11 percent of residents live below the poverty level. The Department plans to protect and preserve 574 acres in the Historic Bayhorse Mining District by creating an interpretive Historic State Park. When the target site is cleaned up, the Department plans to reuse it as a facility for interpretive exhibits with information about mining history in the area. Reuse is expected to increase tourism and create jobs.
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 (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 10 Brownfields Team
(206) 553-7299
EPA Region 10 Brownfields Web site
(http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/bf)
Grant Recipient: Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
(208) 514-2256
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.