United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-280
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA EPA Brownfields
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Chautauqua County, NY
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 County of Chautauqua for a
Brownfields AssessmentPilot. The county borders
Lake Erie in the southwestern corner of New York
State. The Pilot targets state Empire Zones in two of
the county's main industrial centers. One target area
is located in Jamestown (population 32,166), and
the other is in Dunkirk (population 12,592).
Manufacturing facilities, textile and woolen mills,
locomotive assembly plants, and metal foundries
flourished before the 1950s, due in part to the
county's proximity to Lake Erie's shipping routes.
Chautauqua County has lost 12,000 manufacturing
jobs since the 1950s.
A former mill and furniture manufacturing site and a
former woodworking site will be the focus of Pilot
activities in Jamestown. Jamestown is suffering from
declining per capita income, population, and
employment opportunities. The poverty rate in the
Greater Jamestown Empire Zone is nearly 30
percent, and unemployment exceeds 14 percent.
In the Dunkirk/Sheridan Empire Zone, the Pilot will
focus on a former steel site and a former engine and
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Chautauqua County,
New York
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will inventory
brownfield sites throughout
Chautauqua County and focus on
key sites in the industrial Greater
Jamestown Empire Zone and the
Dunkirk/Sheridan Empire Zone
Contacts:
Chautauqua County Department
of Public Facilities
(716)661-8400
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the E PA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/
bfmainpg.htm
Forfurther information, including specific Pilotcontacts,
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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auto parts manufacturing site. Numerous mills,
factories, and foundries lie abandoned due to real or
perceived environmental problems and resulting tax
liens and title issues. Many of these sites have good
potential for redevelopment, but are left vacant as
developers targetprimeagriculturallandinthecounty.
Thepoverty rate in this blue-collar community exceeds
22 percent, and unemployment is at 12.5 percent.
OBJECTIVES
The county's long-term objective is to expand its
redevelopment program and reduce the severe
industrial decline and accompanying rise in poverty
and unemployment. To further that objective, the
Pilot will inventory potential brownfield sites
throughout the county, develop a procedure for
evaluating and prioritizing sites for redevelopment,
conduct environmental site assessments, and reach
outto affected communities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting a county wide inventory of potential
brownfield sites;
• Developing an evaluation process to prioritize
inventoried sites slatedforredevelopment;
• Conducting site assessments and planning for
cleanup of high-priority sites; and
• Expanding the activities of the county's Brownfields
TaskForce to ensure inputfrom community leaders
and affected residents.
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 Chautauqua County, New York
April 2001 EPA500-F-01-280
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