United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-275 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot St. Louis, Ml 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 St. Louis for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. St. Louis (population 4,309)islocatedinthegeographiccenterofMichigan. The area's overall population growth in the last 20 years has been less than 5 percent, and 21 percent of the city's residents live at or below the poverty level. Median household income in St. Louis is 37 percent below the state average. The city has experienced a decline in commercial and industrial investment in the last 15 years, and has a reputation for being polluted and unsightly due to the presence of the Velsicol Chemical Co. Superfund site. The industrial corridor along the Pine River in the southern part of town is one of the oldest and most blighted areas in the city. The city has identified between 35 and 40 potential brownfields properties that could be readily developed if a cohesive strategy were developed and implemented to move toward sustainable development. The target properties for this Pilot project would focus on commercial or industrial sites that may be owned by private parties or owned by the city or state through tax reversion. PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Announcement: April 2001 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot will identify, prioritize, and assess 35 to 40 brownfield sites along the blighted industrial corridor in the southern part of St. Louis. St. Louis, Michigan Contacts: St. Louis Brownfield RedevelopmentAuthority (517)681-4621 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/ For further 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/ ------- OBJECTIVES The objective of this Pilotis to cleanup, redevelop, and sustainably reuse brownfields properties in the City of St. Louis. Through a community-based process, the Pilot plans to complete an inventory of brownfields properties using inventorying methods developed by other Michigan Pilot projects. An extensive community-based involvement process will be woven throughoutthis Pilot which will involve the community in Pilot activities and offer seminars to developers and other interested parties. The maj ority of funds will be used to perform Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments on high priority sites. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Initiating an inventory and prioritization system; • Prioritizing sites that have the highest economic and social value for redevelopment; • Completing Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments onthehighestpriority brownfields; and • Presenting informational sessions targeting the community, developers, bankers, and real estate personnel. 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 St. Louis, Michigan April 2001 EPA500-F-01-275 ------- |