&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-184
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Utica, NY
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. The Pilots 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 Utica for a Brownfields
Pilot. Utica is a relatively small metropolitan area
located along the Mohawk River and Erie Canal. In
the 1800s and early 1900s, the majority ofbusinesses
were paper and textile milling companies. In the mid-
1900s, the area began to support high-tech
manufacturing and the textile mills began to shut
down. Like many industrial cities in the northeast,
Utica (population 61,368) has experienced a significant
decline in its tax and job base over the past 50 years.
Today, most textile mills are closed or being used by
different businesses, and most high-tech industries
have moved out of the State.
While many of the abandoned industrial sites in Utica
have known contamination, others are only perceived
to be contaminated. Adj acent industries are unwilling
to purchase properties due to the perceived
environmental contamination and associated liabilities.
There are many small abandoned and underused
commercial/industrial sites in Utica. The City is
making active efforts to demolish these buildings,
remove the environmental and health threats, and
make room for new economic growth. In the past two
years, 300 abandoned structures have been
demolished; 250 of these sites have been marketed,
and some have been sold for redevelopment.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will
target the Foster Paper
Company site, an
abandoned paper
manufacturing facility, and
three additional sites.
Utica, New York
Contacts:
Office of the Mayor
City of Utica
(315)792-0152
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/bfmainpg.htm
Forfurtherirrformation, including specific 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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The Pilot will focus on the Foster Paper Company
site, an abandoned paper manufacturing facility, and
three additional sites.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's objective is to prepare the Foster Paper
Company site and three additional sites for cleanup
and redevelopment. The Pilot plans to: perform site
assessments to characterize the extent and degree of
contamination; design cleanup plans to prepare the
properties for purchase and redevelopment; and
provide Utica community members with an
understanding of potential environmental and
ownership concerns to enable them to help shape and
participate in redevelopment in an informed manner.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting Phase I and II environmental
assessments of the Foster Paper Company site and
three additional sites to determine cleanup levels and
objectives required under the New York State
Voluntary Cleanup Program;
• Integrating the assessment results into cleanup plans
for the sites; and
• Conducting a Community Involvement Plan to
encourage community input and decision making for
reuse of the 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 Utica, New York
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-184
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