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 Brownfields  2005

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

   Southern Ohio Port

        Authority,  New

          Boston, OH

EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law,  EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants  through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Southern Ohio Port Authority was selected to
receive a brownfields assessment grant. The target
area is the Village  of New Boston (population 2,340),
located in Scioto County. An integrated steel mill
operated in New Boston for most of the 20th Century.
This mill ran the length of the village along the Ohio
River. At one time, it spanned 30 percent of the total
developable land mass in the village. When the steel
mill closed in 1980, over 2,500 employees were dis-
placed. The coke plant continued to operate until 2002,
when another 220  were displaced. The Southern Ohio
Port Authority began assessment and remediation
  Assessment Grant
  $350,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the Southern Ohio Port Author-
  ity for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant
  funds will be used to conduct a remedial investi-
  gation of and develop a cleanup plan for the
  former New Boston Coke Plant. Hazardous
  substances contamination at the site is related to
  coke operations, which include production, use,
  handling, and storage of coal tar and coal gas
  byproducts. The project represents the last stage
  of the remediation of a large integrated steel mill
  that closed in 1980.
  Contacts
  For further information, including specific grant
  contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
  news and events, and publications and links, visit
  the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
  brownfields.
  EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
  312-886-7576
  http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
  Grant Recipient: Southern Ohio Port Authority
  740-354-7541
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
efforts on large portions of the site in 1994. This
assessment will address the last remaining portion of
the steel mill, the coke plant facility. The facility's long
history of non-compliance with environmental regula-
tions and poor management of environmental controls
is suspected to have resulted in significant releases of
potential contaminants to the environment. Runoff from
the property discharges into the Ohio River. Assess-
ment and cleanup of the facility will mitigate potential
health and safety risks to the community. Redevelop-
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-05-055
                        May 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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ment of the facility will recapture 31 acres of idled land
for commercial or industrial development, generate
much-needed jobs in the community, and expand the
local tax base.

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