United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-284
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA EPA Brownfields
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Chester County, PA
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
EPAhas selected ChesterCountyforaBrownfields
AssessmentPilot. Chester County, near Philadelphia,
encompasses 756 square miles in southeastern
Pennsylvania. The county was a hub of transportation
and production during the Industrial Revolution. Its
steelmanufacturing industry dates backto before the
Revolutionary War, whenfoundrieswere established
in many of the county's communities. In time,
however, the industrial centers were abandoned,
leaving behind a number of vacant "smokestack"
facilities.
The Chester County Industrial Development
Authority, in cooperation with local groups, has
selected three sites for this Brownfields Pilot. The
first is the 14-acre former Bishop Tube facility that is
owned by the authority and located in East Whiteland
Township (population 9,153). The second property
is the inactive 17-acre Amtrak railyard located in
DowningtownBorough (population 8,189), which
has an 11 percent minority population. The third
property is the 8.5-acre former Lukens Steel facility
inCoatesville (population 11,590), which has a 60
percent minority population and a poverty rate of
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will
characterize and initiate plans
to redevelop two former steel
manufacturing sitesand one
inactive railyard in Chester
County.
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Contacts:
Chester County Industrial
DevelopmentAuthority
(610)363-6110
Regional BrownfieldTeam
U.S. EPA - Region 3
(215)814-3129
Visit the E PA Region 3 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/brownfld/hmpage1.htm
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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18.2 percent. Downingtown is a Pennsylvania-
designated Keystone Opportunity Zone, and
Coatesville is a state Enterprise Zone. Together, the
assessment and redevelopment of these three sites
are referred to as the Chester County Brownfields
Developmentlnitiative.
OBJECTIVES
The principal objective of this project is to enhance
the prospects of revitalizing the communities that
host the three targeted brownfields sites. The Pilot
plans to conduct site assessments and develop cleanup
plans at the three sites targeted for redevelopment.
The Pilot also plans to create and implement a public
outreach program that will involve residents,
encourage the real estate and industrial development
sectors to becomeintegrallyinvolvedinPilotactivities,
and share cleanup plans with the community at-large.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Reviewing existing planning data and using
environmental site assessments to identify
contaminants ateach of the three targeted sites;
• Establishing strong cooperative relationships with
the communities where the sites are located;
• Analyzing ownership and site use histories;
• Establishing cleanup objectives and plans; and
• Coordinating the Brownfields Initiative with Main
Street, Keystone Opportunity Zone, and Enterprise
Zone activities.
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 Chester County, Pennsylvania
April 2001 EPA500-F-01-284
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