Frequently Asked Questions

In 2005, the City of Chattanooga pursued an Environmental Protection Agency grant for its highest priority for brownfields assessment- Alton Park.  The City of Chattanooga has received grant funding in the amount of $200,000 from the EPA to conduct a Community-wide Brownfield Assessment for the Alton Park community south of downtown Chattanooga.

1. What is a brownfield?
    
2. Why redevelop brownfields?
    
3. What is the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency’s (RPA) involvement in this brownfields initiative?
    
4. Who is involved in brownfield redevelopment?
    
5. How do I become involved?
    
6. What is the timeframe for the grant?
    
7. What does the grant fund?
    
8. What specific area will the community-wide assessment cover?
    
9. Where can I find additional information?

1. What is a brownfield?
   
   The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Brownfields as:
   
   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.
   
   Many people picture brownfields as abandoned industrial sites. That view is too narrow, as brownfields can also include commercial buildings with little or no environmental contamination. Brownfields can be warehouses, former service stations, abandoned railroad dry cleaners or vacant property.
   
   
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2. Why redevelop brownfields?
   
   Brownfields are often blight on urban neighborhoods and can potentially harm human health and the environment. Most brownfields produce little tax revenue and reduce local employment opportunities. When brownfields are investigated, cleaned up, and returned to productive use, the City, its economy and its neighborhoods benefit.
   
   Cleaning up and reinvesting in brownfields increases the local tax base, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land and both improves and protects the environment.
   
   
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3. What is the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency’s (RPA) involvement in this brownfields initiative?
   
   The RPA has been chosen by the City of Chattanooga to provide oversight and staffing for the EPA Community-wide Assessment Grant. RPA is the comprehensive community planning organization for the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
   
   
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4. Who is involved in brownfield redevelopment?
   
   One important goal of Chattanooga’s brownfields assessment is to involve the many different stakeholders within the community. A variety of private and public sector organizations will play a role in identifying and redeveloping brownfield sites. Key players include: citizens, community groups, developers, community development corporations, the Brownfields Task Force, Hamilton County Health Department, State of Tennessee, and the City of Chattanooga Mayor’s Office and the departments of Public Works, Neighborhood Services, and Office of Multicultural Affairs among many others.
   
   
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5. How do I become involved?
   
   You don’t have to be an elected official, environmental specialist, or property owner to identify potential brownfield sites in Alton Park and envision a better, more productive use for those sites.  As a member of the community, your help is needed to help assess potential sites, select those sites that have the greatest potential for development or redevelopment, and plan for potential cleanup and development that meets the needs of the Alton Park community.
   
   A series of public meetings will be held starting the winter of 2006/2007. Dates for these meetings will be announced at a later time.
   
   
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6. What is the timeframe for the grant?
   
   The grant funds three years of work from October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2009.
   
   
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7. What does the grant fund?
   
   Under EPA guidelines, this grant can only be used to fund four major tasks: site inventory, site assessment, community involvement, and developing a cleanup and redevelopment plan.
   
   
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8. What specific area will the community-wide assessment cover?
   
   View Alton Park Area Map.
   
   
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9. Where can I find additional information?
   
   Information is available online from the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at www.epa.gov/brownfields. This site also provides brownfield information in Spanish.
   
   The Regional Planning Agency’s website at www.chcrpa.org will be updated to provide information on the program and upcoming public meetings.