United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-00-269
December 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
St. Louis County, MO
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 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 brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
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 selected St. Louis County for a Brownfields
Pilot. The Pilot is focusing its activities on Wellston,
which is part of a federally designated Enterprise
Community, a state-designated Enterprise Zone, and
part of the St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone.
Wellston's population has declined by 60 percent over
the past 50 years, 46 percent of the current residents
live below the poverty level, and the city has a 22
percent unemployment rate. Most industries have
moved to the outer suburbs, and a once-vibrant retail
district has disappeared from the city. The St. Louis
County Pilot is focusing on a 100-acre area near the
Wellston Metro Link Station. A previous user of a
portion of that area was the Wagner Electric Company.
It manufactured electrical transformers, electric
motors, brake linings, and other components. A
portion of the Wagner site was cleaned up under
Superfund authority; however, the city believes that
other areas adjacent to the site may be contaminated
due to activities that took place at the Wagner property.
The main focus of the Land Clearance for
Redevelopment Authority of St. Louis County and the
City of Wellston is to redevelop some of their
brownfields areas (including portions of the Wagner
site) as the Wellston Technology Park (WTP). The
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
September 1997
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets a
100-acre area near the
Wellston Metro LinkStation.
St. Louis County, Missouri
Contacts:
Land Clearancefor Redevelopment
AuthorityofSt. Louis County and
the City of Wellston
(314)889-7663
U.S. EPA-Region 7
(913)551-7786
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/
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WTP would require improvements to infrastructure
to facilitate residential and commercial development.
In addition, numerous properties surrounding the WTP
are to be assessed and redeveloped according to the
adopted redevelopment plan forthe City ofWellston.
The Pilot is seen as an opportunity to recapture a long-
lost regional asset and to create a stronger tax base
for the city.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's goal is to create employment and
reinvestment opportunities by redeveloping a 100-
acre abandoned industrial area into a light industrial
technology park, complimented by residential and
commercial redevelopment. Objectives of the Pilot
are to conduct environmental assessments ofproperties
in the target area, prepare cleanup and redevelopment
plans, and develop a community outreach program.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Identified 350 brownfields in the proj ect areathrough
its geographic information system (GIS) efforts;
and
• Completed Phase I assessments at 135 sites
throughout the target area and determined that 129
sites do not require cleanup.
The Pilot is:
• Continuing assessments on additional targeted sites;
• Preparing a comprehensive redevelopment plan,
including land-use strategies; and
• Developing a community outreach program to
involve residents in the Pilot area in the
redevelopment efforts.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the We listen Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities, including the following:
• The Pilot is leveraging $1,075,000 forthe development
of a nonprofit day care center proposed for one of
the Pilot-assessed sites through partnerships with
the Federal Transit Authority's Livable Communities
Initiative ($325,000), the Department of Human
Services' Community Development Block Grants
($500,000), and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development's Economic Development
Initiative ($250,000).
•EPA awarded St. Louis County a $100,000
supplemental assistance grant to target four
brownfields in Wellston and Lamay.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
December 2000
St. Louis County, Missouri
EPA 500-F-00-269
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