United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-141
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownf ields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Rockford, IL
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 Rockford for a
Brownfields Pilot. The city is located in northern
Illinois along the Rock River. It is the second-largest
city in the state, with a population of 139,426. The
Pilot targets a 9.5-square-mile area within the city
containing 227 acres of identified brownfields and 1
million square feet of industrial and commercial space,
designated as an Enterprise Zone (EZ) by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). In addition to the blight of these brownfields,
the EZ's 22,093 residents experience a 21 percent
poverty rate and a 12.2 percent unemployment rate.
Historically, industry in Rockford has included farm
equipment manufacturers, tanneries, blacksmiths, auto
and auto parts manufacturers, and other heavy industrial
businesses. As wages soared, facilities aged, and the
economy slumped, industries fled the area, leading to
a manufacturing and economic decline in Rockford as
well as creating abandoned brownfields. In addition
to questions regarding contamination, brownfields
have remained undeveloped due to lack of financing
and an abundance of greenfields both inside and
outside the city.
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Rockford, Illinois
Contacts:
City of Rockford
Community Development
Department
(815)987-5696
Date of Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields sites within the
city's EZ for environmental
assessments and re-
development planning.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312)353-3161
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
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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OBJECTIVES
The City of Rockford focuses on both greenfields
preservation and brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment. By developing strategies to assist
businesses with the environmental issues involved
with potentially contaminated brownfields, the city
will create additional employment opportunities for
residents while at the same time preventing further
loss of greenfields. The Pilot's objective is to assist
the city by removing environmental uncertainty at the
targeted sites and involving community stakeholders
in the decision-making for the sites.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting an area-wide assessment of brownfields
sites within the EZ;
• Completing 10 Phase I assessments and 4 Phase II
assessments on sites within the EZ;
• Establishing a Brownfields Advisory Board to help
administer the Pilot and provide guidance and input
on a comprehensive brownfields redevelopment
plan; and
• Developing cleanup action plans for six properties.
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 Rockford, Illinois
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-141
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