United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-308 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Clinton, IA Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105) Quick Reference Fact Sheet EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance 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. BACKGROUND EPA has selected the City of Clinton to receive supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Clinton's population (approximately 29,000) has been declining steadily for years. The economic problems caused by the city's population loss were compounded by Union Pacific Railroad's decision to close its repair and maintenance facility in south Clinton, resulting in the loss of 250 jobs. The 100-year-old repair and maintenance facility is part of the area's extensive industrial history that is a cause for concerns about environmental contamination. As the city looks for land forfuture industrial development, itis limited to active farmland, vacant land in residential areas, and the brownfields areas. The Pilotwill target Liberty Square, a 220-acre area located within a state-designated enterprise zone. Liberty Square's 3,520 residents have a per capita income of $9,281, and 17 percent of families are living below the national poverty level. The area's unemployment rate is 15 percent. The Liberty Square area includes a 40-acre rail yard, a solid waste transfer station, and former retail and manufacturing facilities. The area contains several hundred thousand square feet of abandoned and PILOT SNAPSHOT Clinton, Iowa Date of Award: April 2001 Amount: $150,000 Profile: The Pilot will target the 220-acre Liberty Square area, located withinastate- designated enterprise zone, for Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments, continuing the activities of the original Pilot. Contacts: City of Clinton Public Works Office (319)242-0261 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA - Region 7 (913)551-7719 Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region07/specinit/brown/brownfields.htm For further information, 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/ ------- unused building space. Fear of environmental contamination has hindered development in the target area and on adjacent properties. The Liberty Square brownfields are located less than one-half mile from the Mississippi River. The Pilot's efforts complement the city's broader land use planning efforts, which include the city's formal land use plan for Liberty Square. The city is also working with the Iowa Departmentof Transportation to include infrastructure improvements in the redevelopment plans. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The original Pilot conducted Phase I environmental assessments on 36 percent of the targeted sites. The Pilot will use supplemental funding to double that figure with a second round of Phase I assessments in addition to Phase II assessments to be carried out on selected sites. The city's objective remains the same to remove concerns over real and perceived contamination in the target area through assessment and cleanup of brownfields to facilitate the redevelopment of the Liberty Square area. The Pilot plans to: Conduct community outreach to enhance the participation of residents, property owners, partners, and other stakeholders in the brownfields project; Conduct a second round of Phase I environmental assessments on sites originally targeted by the Pilot; After the Phase I assessments have been completed on those sites, rank the sites for Phase II assessment prioritization; and Conduct Phase II environmental assessments of the prioritized sites. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this tact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Supplemental Assistance April2001 Clinton, Iowa EPA 500-F-01-308 ------- |