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/
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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
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