United States
                   Environmental
                   Protection Agency
                   Washington, D.C.  20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
 EPA500-F-99-013
 March 1999
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
          PA   Brownfields  Assessment
                   Demonstration  Pilot
                                                           Johnstown,  NY
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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.
BACKGROUND

EPA has selected  the City of Johnstown  for a
Brownfields  Pilot.  Johnstown (population
approximately 9,000) is the seat of Fulton County
and is surrounded by rural and low-income areas.
The city and county were once known as the leather
capital  of the  world when  more than 5,300 area
residents were employed in the industry. However,
changes in technology, foreign competition, and
associated environmental problems resulted in plant
closures, job losses, and a depleted tax base. Today,
8 percent of the residents are unemployed and Fulton's
poverty rate of 13 percent is the highest of any New
York county.

The Pilot is targeting the former Karg Brothers
Tannery, whose closure in 1993 resulted in about one
quarter of the  county's residents losing their jobs.
The tannery was the largest of area operations and
redevelopment of the  10-acre  property  is the
cornerstone  of the  city's economic revitalization.
The site, located on Cayadutta Creek, is known to
contain storage tanks of solvents, acids, chromium
compounds,  dyes  and  pigments.   Following
assessment and cleanup, existing infrastructure will
help spur redevelopment of the property.
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
                     Date of Announcement:
                     March 1999

                     Amount:  $200,000

                     Profile: The Pilot targets the
                     10-acre former Karg Brothers
                     Tannery for redevelopment.
                     The site is a cornerstone for the
                     city's economic revitalization.
   Johnstown, New York
 Contacts:

 City of Johnstown
 (518)736-4014
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 2
(212)637-4314
      Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
 http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/bfmainpg.htm

    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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OBJECTIVES

Johnstown's objective  is to increase employment
opportunities for area residents and raise the city's
tax base by redeveloping the Karg Brothers Tannery
site.  Revitalization of the tannery will also provide
public access to the property and to adj acent Cayadutta
Creek. The city also plans to integrate aportion of the
site with neighboring Schriver Pond Linear Park, and
locate a bus depot for the  local school  district on
another part of the property. The Pilot will assist the
city's  plans by  conducting  environmental
investigations on the property and involving the
community  in the redevelopment process with a
Citizen Participation Plan.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Performing an environmental assessment of the
 Karg Brothers Tannery site;

• Collecting soil samples from adjacent  residential
 properties  and testing water and sediment from
 Cayadutta Creek;

• Developing a Public Participation  Plan and
 conducting community outreach meetings;

• Providing Pilotproject information via the Internet;
 and

• Leveraging cleanup  and redevelopment funding,
 including  a $200,000 goods  and  services
 commitment from the City of Johnstown.

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                                              Johnstown, New York
March 1999                                                                         EPA 500-F-99-013

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