United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-163
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Coos Bay, OR
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 Coos Bay for a
Brownfields Pilot. Coos Bay (population 15,635) is
the economic center for Coos County (population
61,400). The city is approximately 10 square miles,
and is defined as a working-class community. The
per capita income is $ 11,200, with a median household
income of $21,600. Approximately 17 percent of
citizens live below the poverty line and there is an
unemployment rate of 10 percent. Traditionally,
timber, fishing, and mining have been the main
industries sustaining the economy and community.
However, those industries have declined in recent
years and the city's reliance on them has increased
unemployment and created a population flight; Coos
Bay is the only region in Oregon to have a population
decrease for two straight years (1996-1997). Coos
Bay has been designated an economically distressed
community by the Oregon Economic Development
Department.
The Pilot targets a 10-square-block waterfront area
called Front Street. When the city was founded in
1853, this area was a main meeting place and
thoroughfare. The Front Street area now contains
more than 3 5 privately owned parcels and is considered
the keystone to brownfields cleanup and
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Coos Bay, Oregon
Contacts:
City of Coos Bay
Department of
Community Services
(541)269-8918
Date of Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets 35
parcels between theCoos Bay
Estuary and Front Street.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 10
(206) 553-6523
Visit the EPA Region 10 Brownfields web site at:
http://epainotes1.rtpnc.epa.gov:7777/r10/cleanup.nsf/
webpage/Brownfields
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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redevelopment in Coos Bay. Many of the properties
between Front Street and the Coos Bay Estuary are
underused, blighted, and vacant. Suspected
contamination includes waste from heavy industrial
uses such as machine shops, iron works, ship
maintenance, and forest product industries. The city
suspects that at least half of the sites in the project
area are contaminated, but the unknown levels of
contamination are preventing redevelopment.
OBJECTIVES
The city's objective is to diversify its reliance on the
dwindling timber, fishing, and mining industries to
sustain its economy. Coos Bay recognizes the need
to diversify its economy, and the redevelopment of the
Front Street area is a critical first step. A master plan
for the Front Street area is currently in development
with the local government and community. The city
wants to shift the resource-dependent economy to a
tourism-based one. Potential future uses for the
waterfront site include a boardwalk along the estuary
shore and a maritime museum celebrating the history
of the area. The Pilot will assist the city's goals by
assessing and characterizing the contamination of the
35 properties in the project area to resolve the
uncertainty regarding liability and cleanup costs.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I assessments at 35 properties in
the project area;
• Identifying and performing Phase II assessments at
six to eight properties in the project area; and
• Conducting a Brownfields Town Hall meeting and
two follow-up forums with the community.
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 Coos Bay, Oregon
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-163
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