United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-034 June 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Dayton, OH 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 selected the City of Dayton for a Brownfields Pilot. Dayton (population 182,005) was a prosperous factory town until the late 1960s, when jobs and workers began moving to the suburbs—a demographic shift that has occurred in many U.S. cities. Between 1970and 1990, thecitylostmorethan45,000jobs and 60,000 residents. Today, abandoned factories are a common sight. The average income in the city is 74 percent of the national average, and the minority population is 42 percent. Several poor neighborhoods in the city have been designated as federal Enterprise Communities. Dayton has identified 10 area brownfields, covering more than 135 acres of land, as priority sites for cleanup and redevelopment. These 10 downtown sites are located in economically disadvantaged and minority neighborhoods. Dayton's comprehensive city development plan identifiedthe tooling andmachine industries as potential suppliers of more than 5,600 new jobs. To meet this demand, the city created a concept known as "Tool Town" that concentrates tooling and machining companies, support services, and training opportunities onredevelopedbrownfields sites. Dayton will initially target a 35-acre former automobile factory as the first stage of Tool Town's development. The abandoned factory is in a prime PILOT SNAPSHOT Dayton, Ohio Date of Award: September 1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets an abandoned 35-acreformerautomobile factory located in the downtown area forcleanupand redevelopmentas part of the city's Tool Town concept. Contacts: City of Dayton, Departmentof Planning (937)443-3670 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, brown fields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- location near the downtown area, existing businesses, a community college, transportation routes, and a potential work force, but suspected environmental contamination at the site has hindered redevelopment. OBJECTIVES Dayton will use its Pilot funding to assess and plan for the cleanup of the former automobile factory for the Tool Town redevelopment proj ect. The Pilot will also develop apian to encourage community involvement in Pilot activities through a series of public meetings. A Brownfields Resource Team, which supports the city's Brownfields Redevelopment Authority, will coordinate Pilot activities. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES The Pilot has: • Compiled an inventory of 10 brownfields and targeted the Harrison Division site, a former automobile factory. The Pilot is: • Completing environmental assessments of the targeted site; • Developing cleanup plans for the site; • Identifying potential funding sources for future cleanup and redevelopment; and • Facilitating public forums to encourage community involvement and obtain input from affected neighborhoods on environmental concerns and redevelopment plans for the targeted site. LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES Experience with the Dayton Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities, includingthe following: • A total of $450,000 in redevelopment funding has been leveraged to date for the Tool Town concept. The Dayton Tooling and Machining Association provided $250,000, and the U.S. Congress provided Dayton with $200,000. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot June 2001 Dayton, Ohio EPA 500-F-01-034 ------- |