United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-112
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\>EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Oshkosh, Wl
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Oshkosh for a
Brownfields Pilot. Oshkosh is located on the banks
of the Fox River and Lake Winnebago and has a
population of approximately 55,000, of which
approximately 16 percent live below the poverty
level. Throughout its history, Oshkosh's economic
base has relied heavily on the lumber industry.
Numerous sawmills and finished-product lumber
industries occupied the banks of the Fox River for
years. As the times and economy have changed,
many of the industries along the Fox River have
either gone out of business or relocated. Many of
these old industrial sites are currently vacant or
abandoned because of possible environmental
concerns related to historical uses in the Fox River
area. In 1993, the city adopted a comprehensive
plan to encourage redevelopment in Oshkosh with
an orientation toward the lakefront and riverfront.
The Pilot will target brownfields encompassing
approximately 89 acres along the banks of the Fox
River and in its associated wetland areas.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields along the Fox
Riverwaterfront.
Oshkosh,
Contacts:
City of Oshkosh
Department of
Community Development
(920)236-5055
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 5
(312)353-3161
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Forfurther information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot will supplement Oshkosh's comprehensive
plan, which seeks to encourage the redevelopment of
abandoned lakefront and riverfront sites and work
jointly with private property owners to identify and
clean up sites that have been damaged by
environmental contamination. In addition, the Pilot
will engage in activities that encourage public access
to the riverfront through the creation of a trail system
and parks and the integration of public and private
riverfront areas. Specifically, the Pilot will be used to
assist in the relocation of two manufacturing facilities
from the Fox River area and to conduct Phase I and
Phase II environmental assessments on brownfields
in the targeted area.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing an inventory of brownfields sites along
the river;
• Conducting site reconnaissance and completing
historical research on identified brownfields sites;
• Developing a method for prioritizing identified
brownfields sites and selecting several brownfields
for further investigation;
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
assessments, as appropriate, on the targeted sites;
• Evaluating cleanup options for the targeted sites;
• Establishing and implementing community outreach
programs relating to the targeted brownfields area;
and
• Incorporating brownfields site characteristics into a
geographic information system (GIS) framework.
The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subjectto change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Oshkosh, I/I//
May2000 EPA 500-F-OO-112
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