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                            Assessment
                            Broome  County,  NY
BACKGROUND

EPA has selected Broome County for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Broome County (population 200,5 3 6) is
located in south central New York. The  county has
identified 83 brownfields that occupy over 1,800 acres as
potential targets for this Pilot. These brownfields include
former dry cleaning facilities, metal forging plants, high-
technology manufacturing facilities, pesticide storage areas,
and dump sites. The underutilized or abandoned facilities
have deteriorated, causing disinvestment by neighboring
property owners.

The county has a long history of industrial development
that is concentrated in the City of Binghamton and the
Town of Union, the county' s largest urban areas. However,
changes in manufacturing methods have led to industrial
downsizing and some facility closures. The county was
particularly hard hit by defense downsizing and the loss of
several thousand  IBM jobs during  the last  decade.
Population has decreased by nearly 10 percent over the
last 30 years. Manufacturing employmenthas declined 40
percent since  1985, and since 1989, poverty rates have
increased by 31 percent. The declining population and
rising poverty rates are most pronounced in the urban core
of the county. These blighted urban areas also have the
greatest concentration of minority residents: more than 81
percent of the county's African-American population
lives in Binghamton or Union.

OBJECTIVES

The county's objective is to revitalize communities by
redeveloping brownfields,  thereby encouraging
reinvestment in blighted neighborhoods. To accomplish
this obj ective, the Pilot plans to develop a tool for county
planners that  can be used to address environmentally
contaminated  sites while  conducting the  Binghamton
Metropolitan Transportation Study (Gateway Study) and
   PILOT SNAPSHOT
    Broome County,
    New York
Date of Announcement:
May 2002

Amount: $200,000

Profile:The Pilot targets
underused or abandoned
facilities that have deteriorated,
causing disinvestment by
neighboring properly ownersand
contributing to the area's
economicdecline.
   Contacts:

   Broome County
   Department of Planning and
   Economic Development
   (607)778-2367
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 2
(212)6374314
        Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
     http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/brownfields/

      For furtherinformation, including specific Pilot contacts,
    additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
    publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
              www.epa.gov/brownfields

during the development of the county's Plan for Sustainable
Economic Development. Pilot funds will also be used to
conduct environmental  site  assessments and develop
cleanup and reuse plans.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Continuing to develop and refine screening criteria that
  will be used to select targeted properties;

• Conducting Phase I and II environmental assessments
  on targeted properties;

• Preparing a concept plan and risk-based reuse plan for
  each site selected for assessment;

• Conducting  outreach meetings with the owners  of
  targeted sites;

• Holding public meetings to inform the public about
  project activities and solicit input for redevelopment
  plans; and

• Issuing a request for proposals for site characterization
  and engineering evaluations for the targeted sites.

The cooperative agreement forthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                                             Solid Waste            EPA 500-F-02-040
                                                             and Emergency        May 2002
                                                             Response (5105)       www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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