United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-116
April 1997
Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Chicago, IL
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots 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.
OVERVIEW
EPA Region 5 has selected the City of Chicago as a
Regional Brownfields Pilot. The west side of Chicago
is characterized by mixed residential and industrial
land uses. Abandoned industrial properties have
created economic blight and hampered redevelopment.
In 1993, representatives from the Chicago
Departments of Environment, Planning and
Development, Buildings, Law, and the Mayor's Office
came together to develop a strategy for promoting
cleanup and redevelopment of the City's brownfields.
The City developed a three-pronged initiative based
on this strategy.
The Brownfields Forum is a broad-based public/
private policy group including real estate developers,
industrialists, bankers, lawyers, representatives from
local, State, and Federal government agencies,
environmental advocates, and community groups.
Between December 1994 and June 1995, over 130
people attended a series of working meetings,
developing 65 recommendations for promoting
brownfields redevelopment. Forum participants
formed project teams and implemented some of the
recommendations including regulatory changes,
influencing regional planning, involving communities
and promoting pollution prevention.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Chicago, Illinois
Contacts:
Jessica Rio
City of Chicago
Department of
Environment
Chicago, IL 60602
(312)744-7606
Date of Award:
April 1997
Site Profile: The pilot will
target brownfields sites
located on the City's west
side.
Bill Haubold
EPA - Region 5
(312)353-6261
haubold.william@
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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Also during this time period, the Brownfields Sites
Program invested less than $ 1 million to investigate,
clean up and prepare five sites for private
redevelopment. The City worked with community
and business groups and local, State and Federal
officials which resulted in private capital investment
of over $5.2 million and the creation of over 100 jobs.
The Brownfields Economic Analysis studied a critical
connection between economic research, public policy,
and the practice of brownfields redevelopment.
Research performed by economists at the University
of Illinois at Chicago discovered that urban sprawl
primarily benefits suburban employers, who are being
subsidized by taxpayers and commuters.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this brownfields pilot is to continue
the successful work begun by the City of Chicago in
two important ways. The brownfields pilot will:
assess the responsiveness of environmental and eco-
nomic redevelopment policies devised by the City of
Chicago; and develop a stakeholder participation
process for three brownfields redevelopment sites.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
Chicago Brownfields Forum Evaluation
• Performing interviews with Forum participants to
assess implementation and effects of the 1995 Action
Plan; and
• Recording and assessing accomplishments of the
Forum's workgroups to better define future
redevelopment goals.
Stakeholder Participation Process
• Coordinating with the City's Department of
Environment and the Department of Planning and
Development to develop brownfields site specific
information including site histories, environmental
problems, anticipated redevelopment, and
interactions with community members;
• Interviewing stakeholders to determine concerns
with sites, levels of participation desired, and
concerns relating to the cleanup and redevelopment
process; and
• Developing and implementing a stakeholder
participation plan for each site.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
April 1997
Chicago, Illinois
EPA500-F-97-116
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