United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-144
April 1997
xvEPA
National
Assessment Pilot
Ketchikan Gateway
Borough, AK
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 has selected Ketchikan Gateway Borough as a
Brownfields Pilot. Ketchikan is a community of about
15,000 residents located on Revillagigedo Island in the
southernmost portion of Alaska's "panhandle." The site
selected forme pilot is the Ward Cove Pulp Mill. The
mill was established in 1954 as part of the U.S. Forest
Service' s decision to develop a forest products industry
in southeast Alaska. Previously, the Ketchikan economy
was almost entirely dependent on fisheries, tourism, and
mining—industries mat tend to be highly seasonal and
cyclical. At one time, the mill employed up to seven
percent of Ketchikan's workforce and offered stable,
year-round employment. The current corporate owner
of the mill permanently closed it in March 1997.
Ketchikan hopes mat this brownfields pilot will be a
model for brownfields prevention and remediation.
By planning for immediate reuse of the site, the
community hopes to avoid the deterioration of
buildings, facilities, and equipment. The community
is also trying to avoid costs associated with rebuilding
infrastructure. Ketchikan also hopes to preserve the
scenic beauty and natural resources of the area by
directing industrial development to previously-
developed sites.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Ketchikan, Alaska
Contacts:
Bob Bright
Department of Planning
and Community
Development
(907)228-6610
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Ward
Cove Paper Mill site will
be the focus of the
brownfields pilot.
Lori Cohen
U.S. EPA-Region 10
Seattle, WA
(206) 553-6523
cohen.lori@epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
Ketchikan' s goals for the pilot are: 1) to help maintain
a sustainable industrial employment base; 2) to avoid
an economy dependent on cyclical and seasonal
employment and the problems associated with a
transient labor force; and 3) to retain the Ward Cove
Pulp Mill workforce in the Ketchikan Gateway
Borough community. The brownfield pilot for the
Ward Cove Paper Mill site will serve as a model for
community planning and redevelopment.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Performing a site survey to inventory the parts of the
site can be reused immediately and the parts that
should be excluded from immediate reuse
consideration;
• Conducting site assessment activities;
• Performing an economic analysis of the property to
identify potential industries that may appropriately
reuse the site; and
• Planning for site cleanup.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
April 1997 EPA 500-F-97-144
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