United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-97-064 May 1997 Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot Pittsburgh, PA 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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. 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 Region 3 selected the City of Pittsburgh for a Regional Brownfields Pilot. Pittsburgh is a mature city that is almost completely developed. Its industrial base has experienced losses due primarily to the closing of steel mills and related metals industries. Many of these sites now lie vacant and abandoned. The City has noted a lack of interested buyers who are willing to invest in these properties due to the unknown extent of environmental hazards and liability and the costs associated with addressing these problems. OBJECTIVES The City of Pittsburgh and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) seek to develop a process for conducting timely and flexible environmental assessments of contaminated, abandoned sites that the City hopes to target for redevelopment. The targeted areas are the industrial and commercial sites within the City's Federal EmpowermentZone, State Enterprise Zone, and other maj or industrial corridors. The Pilot plans to identify potential brownfields suitable for redevelopment, and conduct assessments at targeted sites. PILOT SNAPSHOT Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Date of Award: February 1995 Amount: $200,000 Site Profile: The Pilot targets two sites—the Nine Mile Dump is a 238- acre former landfill used by the steel industry—the Lectromelt facility, a former electroplating plant, is a six-acre site located along the Allegheny River. Contacts: Edward Henry Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (412)255-6658 Tom Stolle U.S. EPA-Region 3 (215)566-3129 stolle.tom@epamail.epa.gov Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES The Pilot has: • Developed an inventory of brownfield sites that have development potential and selected two sites for assessment; and • Completed Phase I and II site assessments at the Lectromelt site and Nine Mile Run site. The Pilot is: • Evaluating commercial or industrial market reuse options and potential to inform environmental response planning; • Using financial incentives to stimulate site assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment; • Developing site-specific reuse strategies with future site owner(s)/user(s) and relevant government regulatory personnel to inform environmental response planning; • Developing a brownfields pilot project performance evaluation system; • Integrating citizen inputthroughoutthe brownfields redevelopment process; and • Developing public/private partnerships through capital formation for financing the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields. LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES Experience with the Pittsburgh Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities including the following. • Through other funding mechanisms, the URA secured financing for remediation and infrastructure on two sites targeted by the Pilot. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development provided funds for site acquisition and infrastructure on the Nine Mile Run site and granted the URA $500,000 to complete demolition of the contaminated abandoned buildings at the Lectromelt site. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is issuing bonds for water and sewer lines at the Nine Mile Run site. Plans for the Nine Mile Run site also include constructing approximately 1,100-1,200 housing units and 130,000 square feet of commercial space. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will award the City an Industrial Site Reuse grant to be used toward the remediation of the Lectromelt site. The City is still seeking a purchaser for that site. Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot May 1997 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania EPA 500-F-97-064 ------- |