United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-266 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot LaPorte, IN 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, and safely clean up brownfields to promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace) to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and 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 program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance 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 LaPorte for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The city also was selected to receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. LaPorte (population 21,515) is 40 minutes from South Bend and an hour from Chicago in the center of LaPorte County in northwest Indiana. The city plans to redevelop five parcels encompassing more than 100 acres and two abandoned railroad rights-of-way. Over the past four years, the city has struggled to redevelop the targeted properties, which form a barrier of brownfields that separate formerly cohesive neighborhoods from the rest of the city and has lowered the values of nearby homes. The per capita income of residents in the two neighborhoods surrounding the redevelopment area is nearly 25 percent lower than that of the city-wide population, and the median home value is approximately 17 percent lower than home values in the rest of the city. PILOT SNAPSHOT LaPorte, Indiana Date of Announcement: April 2001 Amount: $200,000 Greenspace: $50,000 Profile: The city seeks to assess five parcels encompassing more than 100 acres and two abandoned railroad rights-of-way as partof a plan to return these properties to active use and help revitalize two neighborhoods that have been negatively affected by brownfields. Contacts: City of LaPorte (219)362-8260 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA - Region 5 (312)886-7576 Visit the E PA Region 5 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/ Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific 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/ ------- OBJECTIVES Through this Pilot project, the city plans to complete subsurface investigations, conduct Phase I and Phase nenvironmentalsite assessments, andidentify cleanup design options for these sites. The city also will conduct public outreach to gain community input regarding property redevelopment options. LaPorte anticipates potential redevelopment of the former landfill and portions of the target parcels as greenspace for passive recreational use along an existing park and nearby lake. The greenspace also would serve as an integral part of a new housing development near the city's old central business district. Affordable familyhousing,commercialbusinesses,andimproved transportation opportunities (including pedestrian and bicycling trails) are potential end uses for these properties. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments of the five properties; • Preparinganinitialenvironmentalconditionsreport based on assessment results to use in further planningandtoidentifypreliminarycleanup options; • Organizing neighborhood workshops and undertaking a city-wide design charrette to draft a conceptual plan for redevelopment of the project area; • Completing afinalredevelopmentplan. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot LaPorte, Indiana April 2001 EPA500-F-01-266 ------- |