United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-194
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Brownfields Success Stories
Provo City Steeling Itself for
Redevelopment
PROVO, UT
i
he 338-acre Ironton steel plant site in Provo City, Utah, is the
largest underutilized tract of land in the city. The site, which has
been vacant for more than thirty years, was once an industrial pow-
erhouse for this city of 110,000. The site's derelict condition has
lowered area property values and depleted Provo's tax base by an
estimated $130,000a year. Now, in partnership with Brigham Young
University (BYU), the Utah Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ), steel manufacturer USX, and EPA, Provo City has taken
an active role in bringing the site back to life through assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment.
From 1923 to 1962, the site was home to a steel plant that included
coke ovens, blast furnaces, and other steel production facilities. The
plant was operated by Columbia Steel until just prior to World War
II, when Columbia Steel became a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S.
Steel (now USX). In 1962, U.S. Steel closed the facility and do-
nated the land to BYU. In the years following, the university sold
the property to several developers, including the Ironton Develop-
ment Corporation, whose attempts at redevelopment were blocked
by environmental liabilities associated with the property. To remove
potential cleanup and redevelopment complications regarding pri-
vate-sector ownership, the city purchased 58 acres of the site in
1978, and optioned 149 additional acres in 1991.
cont.
JUST THE FACTS:
' The 338-acre Ironton steel plant site in Provo
City, Utah, is the largest underutilized tract of
land in the city, standing vacant for more than
thirty years.
' With the Pilot's assistance, Econsulting, an
organization run by Brigham Young University
students, completed a study and recom-
mended steps necessary to return the site to
use.
' Cleanup of the Ironton site is now nearly
finished; the city estimates that once the site
is returned to active use, it will generate more
than $400,000 in annual tax revenues.
Under the Pilot's three-phase
plan for the property, the former
owner, USX, will clean up the
site in accordance with a risk-
based industrial standard
agreed upon between the USX
and the Utah DEQ.
ERA'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. EPA
is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to
test cleanup and redevelopment models; 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 programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans 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.
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In 1996, Provo was selected as an EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot and
awarded a $200,000 grant. The Pilot's funding helped the city oversee USX-
funded assessments on the Ironton site, and forged valuable partnerships
with USX, BYU, and the DEQ. Under the aegis of the Pilot, Econsulting,
an organization run by BYU students, completed a study of the property
and recommended steps necessary to return the site to productive use.
The Pilot also coordinated outreach activities to keep the surrounding
community informed of the project, and developed detailed plans to
manage the site during its cleanup and reuse.
The influence of the city, the Brownfields Pilot, and the other partners
intent on restoring the Ironton site prompted USX to enter into a Voluntary
Remediation Agreement under the state's voluntary cleanup law. Under
the Pilot's three-phase plan for the property, USX will clean up the site in
accordance with a risk-based industrial standard agreed upon between USX and
the Utah DEQ. After cleanup is complete, the city will reimburse USX with funds from
the property's sale once the city's development costs are met. Potential re-uses for the
site include a commercial/industrial business park that could create hundreds of new jobs.
In 1999, the city purchased the 149 acres it had optioned. Cleanup of the Ironton site,
begun in September 1998, is now nearly finished, with completion scheduled for Decem-
ber 1999. The city estimates that once returned to active use, the site will generate more
than $400,000 in annual tax revenues.
CONTACTS:
City of Provo
(303)312-7074
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303)312-6803
Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Success Story
May 2000
Provo, UT
EPA 500-F-00-194
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