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/ ------- 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 ------- |