"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love
deeply becomes a part of us." Helen Keller 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 February 17, 2009,
President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This
law provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to award
grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial
sites. Under this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants,
and job training grant