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Brownfields 2007
Grant Fact Sheet
Rochester, NY
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 City of Rochester was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant and a brownfields
cleanup grant. Located in western New York, Roches-
ter (population 220,000) is a federally designated
Renewal Community. Between 1990 and 2000, the
city lost five percent of its population, and 23.4
percent of families live in poverty. Many of the older
underused industrial facilities in the city are obsolete,
deteriorated, or contaminated. There are an estimated
2,300 brownfields in the city, which have become
magnets for illegal dumping and blight. Assessment
efforts will focus on the Lyell, Lake, State Street area,
and the Vacuum Oil-South Genesee River Corridor,
where there are more than 176 brownfields. The
poverty level in the Lyell, Lake, State Street area is 35
percent. The unemployment rate in the Vacuum Oil-
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Rochester for a
brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to conduct 12 to
15 Phase I and II environmental site assessments
in two areas of the city where there are high
concentrations of brownfields. Funds also will be
used for community outreach activities.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Rochester for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
used to clean up the former Photech Imaging
Systems, Inc., site at 1000 Driving Park Avenue.
The 12.2-acre site was formerly used as a photo-
graphic film and paper manufacturing facility,
chemical laboratory, and incinerator. It is con-
taminated with metals and volatile organic
compounds. Funds also will be used for commu-
nity outreach activities.
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 2 Brownfields Team
212-637-4314
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/
brownfields/
Grant Recipient: City of Rochester, NY
585-428-5978
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-07-144
May 2007
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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South Genesee River Corridor is 11 percent. The city's
revitalization plans call for housing, retail, and other
commercial development. Brownfields assessments
will stimulate investment and help the city protect the
Genesee River. Cleanup of the Photech Imaging
Systems, Inc., site will provide industrial land for
redevelopment in the center of the city.
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