United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-131
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Covington, KY
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. 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 brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
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.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Covington for a
Brownfields Pilot. Covington (population
approximately 43,000) is a landlocked community
located between the Ohio and Licking Rivers. The
city is also bisected by anorth-south interstate highway
and two railroads. Due to its riverfront location and
access to major transportation routes, it was once a
bustling city of industry. The area targeted by the
Pilot is the city's Enterprise Zone (population 30,954),
a 9.5-square-mile area comprising downtown
Covington. Unemployment in the area is 9.5 percent,
and approximately 15 percent of the population lives
in poverty.
Once the developable land in Covington was consumed,
industries and factories had no opportunities to expand
their operations. Companies were forced to merge
with larger firms or relocate to the suburbs.
Additionally, to protect residents, the city adopted a
zoning code in 1930 that required industrial properties
to "down-size" near residential neighborhoods. The
combination of these two situations created a flight to
the suburbs by both industry and the residents who
could afford to relocate. Covington was left with
deteriorating, vacant and potentially contaminated
properties, and the remaining, mostly minority
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Covington, Kentucky
Contacts:
Department of
Economic Development
(606)292-2163
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
five sites in Covington's
Enterprise Zone, located on
the Ohio and Licking Rivers.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 4
(404) 562-8661
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.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/
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population experienced increasing unemployment and
poverty.
OBJECTIVES
For several years, Covington has been working with
neighborhood associations and citizen groups to
identify specific brownfields sites of concern and
potential actions to address these sites' environmental
issues as part of a city-wide revitalization effort. This
led to the creation of the city's Brownfields Technical
Committee, which comprises community stakeholders,
business owners, lending institutions, real estate
brokers, developers, lawyers, educators, and
government officials. This committee identified five
priority sites for the Pilot to target because they are
blighted properties in need of attention; they are
almost all city owned; and they can serve as models
for brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. The
city's obj ective is to clean up and redevelop these sites
to create jobs, increase the tax base, and decrease
neighborhood blight and potential health hazards. The
city will rely on the Pilot, local incentive programs, and
private investment to assess, clean up and redevelop
these sites.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Continuing the community involvement program
already in place by holding public meetings, preparing
a summary report, and engaging stakeholders in the
process;
• Inventorying brownfields sites in the target area and
using geographical information system (GIS)
mapping;
• Conducting Phase I and, where necessary, Phase II
assessments at the targeted sites; and
• Developing site cleanup and redevelopment plans
for the targeted sites.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Covington, Kentucky
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-131
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