x>EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-212
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Southern Ohio Port Authority, OH
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 Southern Ohio Port Authority
for a Brownfields Pilot. This small Appalachian
community once had athriving industrial base, anchored
by the 140-acre Empire Detroit Steel Mill in New
Boston, which once employed as many as 4,200
people. Other economic setbacks includedthe loss of
1,000 rail yard jobs, 4,000 shoe manufacturing jobs,
and the closure of the Harbison Walker brickyards in
east Portsmouth. The Pilot area covers the Federally
designated Greater Portsmouth Enterprise Community
(EC). Poverty rates within the EC range from 29%
to 51 %, while the unemployment rates are among the
highest in Ohio.
The main focus of the Pilot will be the assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment of the Empire Detroit
Steel Mill property. This site contains significant
amounts of asbestos, lead, and other heavy metals; in
addition, 32,500tons of PCBs were removedfrom the
site. The return of this property to productive use was
identified by community residents as the number one
priority during the EC planning process.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Southern Ohio Port
Authority, Ohio
Contacts:
Southern Ohio Port
Authority
(740) 353-5869
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the 140-acre former
Detroit Steel Mill site for
return to productive use;
the mill, located within a
Federally designated
Enterprise Community,
once employed 4,200
people.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 5
(312)353-3161
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Forfurtherinformation, 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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OBJECTIVES
The Port Authority's objective is to bring the former
Empire Detroit Steel Mill back to productive use,
thereby creating employment opportunities (including
200 manufacturing-related jobs), generating tax
revenue, and removing the health and safety risks
associated with environmental contamination. Pilot
funds will be used to assist this effort through site
assessments and community outreach activities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Assessing three parcels on the Empire Detroit Steel
Mill site;
• Identifying, assessing, and characterizing other
potential sites in the EC for redevelopment; and
• Expanding the Brownfields Task Force and
environmental justice working group to ensure that
Pilot objectives and future brownfields problems are
addressed and achieved.
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 Southern Ohio Port Authority, Ohio
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-212
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