&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-303
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownf ields Supplemental
Assistance
Lacon, IL
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 worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote
their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion
or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: 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 brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownf ields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental
field; and, a 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 Lacon to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Lacon (population
approximately 2,000) is arural community located in
the Illinois River Valley, which relied heavily on the
Lacon Woolen Mill for employment. When the mill
closed in the late 1960s after 100 years of operation,
the city lost a key business and residents lost their
main employer. Lacon currently has an unemployment
rate of 7 percent, and 55 percent of city residents are
low- to moderate-income. The mill site is located in
the city's South Ward, one of the poorest areas of
Lacon.
The city obtained control of the 17-acre mill site in
1996, and discovered that the former mill's buildings,
groundwater, soil, and floodplain were filled with a
variety of contaminants, including asbestos, pesticides,
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The site is
approximately 1,000 feet from the city's drinking
water supply wells. Some preliminary investigations
and cleanup were performed, and a Phase II
environmental assessment and cleanup action plan
were funded by the initial EPA Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot. However, during
mill operations, outfall pipes deposited liquid waste
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Lacon, Illinois
Date of Award: April 2001
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot plans to
assess an area of the Illinois
River, offshore of the Lacon
Woolen Mill site for sediment
contamination in order to
facilitate site cleanup and
eventual redevelopment of
the riverfront area.
Contacts:
City of Lacon
(309)246-6111
Regional Brownf ields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312)886-4747
Visit the EPA 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/
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into the Illinois River, so before the city can proceed
with the restof its redevelopment activities, aportion
of the river offshore of the mill must be sampled for
contamination.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The City of Lacon plans to use supplemental assistance
funds to help revitalize the city's riverfront in order to
boost the local economy through more tourism, jobs,
and an increased tax base. Prior to riverfront
redevelopment however, the Pilot plans to sample
sediment in the river offshore of the Lacon Woolen
Mill site and pursue aNo Further Remediation Letter
for the area. When this work is completed, the city
hopes to extend the marina located north of the Lacon
Woolen Mill site, providing boat access to a new
greenspace area for bird watching, walking trails, and
fishing, as well as to new and existing restaurants,
retail stores, and the American Legion Hall.
The Pilot plans to:
• Conduct sediment sampling in the river offshore of
the Lacon Woolen Mill site including an evaluation
of the depth and breadth of sediment contamination;
• Establish cleanup objectives for groundwater and
the river;
• Develop a cleanup action plan for any offshore
contamination discovered; and
• Conduct community outreach activities to educate
residents on project activities.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this tact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance
April2001
Lacon, Illinois
EPA 500-F-01-303
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