United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-01-264 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Belvidere, 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 work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfields to promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. EPA is funding: 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 brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, 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 Belvidere for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. Located between Chicago and Rockford in north central Illinois, Belvidere (population 18,712) is experiencing booming development along its downtown river corridor. However, growth has occurred largely in industries that are a concern to the community. The Pilot targets two properties in the downtown river corridor: the Kishwaukee River Site, which includes four properties; and the East Madison Street site, which includes three properties. More than 11 percent of the residents in the target areas live below the poverty level, compared to 6.1 percent for the county. The city has suffered economically from the growth of low-end metal salvaging and truck storage industries and traffic in the Pilot area. The city and community want to develop other land uses, such as commercial and housing development, as anchor properties in the corridor, but their efforts have been halted by environmental concerns at these properties. The Silver property, a metal salvage yard on the Kishwaukee River Site, is the city's first priority for PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Announcement: April 2001 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets two sites in the Belvidere downtown river corridor for assessment and redevelopment planningfor high-end users to be determined with involvement from the community. Belvidere, Illinois Contacts: City of Belvidere (815)544-3726 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA - Region 5 (312)886-7576 Visit the E PA Region 5 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/ Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific 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/ ------- downtown redevelopment. Quick action is needed at this property to prevent local businesses from redeveloping it for other low-end uses. Reuse of the East Madison Street site is part of a long-term effort to relieve traffic congestion in downtown areas and slow urban sprawl. OBJECTIVES Belvidere' s long-term objective is to generate high- density downtown development, which will help preserve nearby farmland and open space. City- directed redevelopment of the project area will establish key sites as anchor properties for further development of higher-end reuses. As part of this objective, the Pilot will focus on quantifying environmental conditions atthe Silverproperty, which is part of the Kishwaukee River site, and conducting environmental assessments of the three EastMadison site properties. The Pilot also will enroll the Silver property in the Illinois voluntary cleanup program and refine land use plans with support from the community. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Developing a conceptual land reuse strategy for the Kishwaukee River site; • Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments on the Silver property and the three EastMadison Street properties; • Enrolling the Silverproperty in the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program and preparing cleanup plans for both sites; and • Establishing a steering committee to involve the community in redevelopment decisions at both sites. 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 Belvidere, Illinois April 2001 EPA500-F-01-264 ------- |