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Brownfields
Assessment
City of Lackawanna, NY
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Lackawanna for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Lackawanna (population 19,064) is
located in Erie County just south of Buffalo in western
New York state. The city experienced rapid growth in the
early 1900s due to the construction of one of the world's
largest steel plants, which employed nearly 20,000 people.
When the bulk of the steel mill's operations closed in the
early 1970s, many of the associated industries closed as
well. Since that time, the population has declined by over
30 percent. The city has identified three potential sites for
assessment: the 3-acre former incinerator site, the vacant
Willett Road site, and properties adjacent to the Seneca
Railyard.
Lackawanna's economic downturn is exemplified by its
designation as an Enterprise Community and aNew York
State Empire Zone. Due to the rapid decline in population
andjobs, 16.7 percent of Lackawanna residents live below
the poverty level and 9.4 percent are unemployed. Forty-
seven percent of the city's residents have annual incomes
of $20,000 or less.
OBJECTIVES
The city's overall objective is to develop a logical and
economically suitable means of making additional property
available for redevelopment. Redevelopmentwill improve
the quality of life for city residents and increase long-term
economic opportunities. To accomplish this objective, the
city will identify, screen, and select sites that support
Lackawanna's economic development strategy.
ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Screeningpotentialbrownfieldstoidentifythe siteswith
the highest potential for redevelopment;
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 2002
Amount: $200,000
Profile:The Pilot targets
brownfields in an economically
disadvantaged community
suffering from the loss of its steel
manufacturing industry.
CityofLackawanna,
New York
Contacts:
CityofLackawanna
DepartmentofDevelopment
(716)827-6681
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 2
(212)6374334
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/brownfields/
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:
www.epa.gov/brownfields
Inventorying potential brownfield sites and reviewing
ownership and site-use histories to identify potential
environmental concerns;
Conducting environmental assessments to identify and
characterize environmental conditions;
Preparing focused remedial plans for each site assessed
that will include plans for reuse; and
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• Conducting community involvement activities that will
keep the public and community leaders involved in the
decision making process.
The cooperative agreement forthis Pilot has notyetbeen negotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Solid Waste EPA 500-F-02-048
and Emergency May 2002
Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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