SEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-224
June 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Brownfields Success Stories
For Developers in Niagara Falls,
the Honeymoon's Just Beginning
NIAGARA FALLS, NY
he EPA Brownfields Pilot awarded to Niagara Falls in
May 1997 is using both traditional and innovative techniques
to restore the city's blighted properties. In addition to catalog-
ing and performing environmental assessments on area
brownfields, the Pilot is facilitating agreements between de-
velopers and the city to minimize risks and eliminate barriers
to progress. When the seven brownfields assessed by the Pilot
are cleaned up and redeveloped, the city's tax base is expected
to increase by tens of thousands of dollars. Private investment,
which has already reached nearly $700,000 due to redevelop-
ment of the former Union Carbide property, is expected to cre-
ate hundreds of new jobs for area residents.
The Niagara Falls Brownfields Pilot used a systematic approach
to restoring underused and potentially contaminated proper-
ties in the Highland Avenue neighborhood, a predominantly
low-income, minority community. The Pilot inventoried and
characterized brownfields sites, conducted assessments, and
involved the community in setting redevelopment priorities.
The neighborhood steering committee of 20 neighborhood resi-
dents met monthly to help guide Pilot activities and create a
brownfields reuse plan for the neighborhood.
continued ^
JUST THE FACTS:
The first brownfields assessments funded by
the Pilot were performed on a 5.5-acre
portion of the 88-acre former Union Carbide
site.
The developer began renovating the site prior
to its purchase, as part of an agreement with
the city that would allow the company to
withdraw if unexpected contaminants were
discovered.
A neighborhood steering committee of 20
residents met monthly to help guide Pilot
activities and create a brownfields reuse plan
for the neighborhood.
The Niagara Falls Brownfields Pilot used
a systematic approach to restoring
underused and potentially contaminated
properties in the Highland Avenue
neighborhood, a predominantly low-
income, minority community.
ERA'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.
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The first brownfields assessments funded by the Pilot were performed in
August 1998 on a 5.5-acre part of the 88-acre former Union Carbide
site. Phase I and Phase II assessments revealed minimal contamina-
tion under a parking lot (requiring only that the asphalt surface re-
main undisturbed) and asbestos in two dilapidated buildings with
crumbling roofs, which required removal. Following renovations,
Standard Ceramics, a high-tech manufacturer of silicon carbide used
in products such as rings, seals, and switches, purchased the site for
$30,000 and relocated six employees to this new location. The com-
pany also hired 12 local residents and anticipates hiring more in the
future.
CONTACTS:
City of Niagara Falls
(716)286-4467
EPA Region 2
(212)637-4273
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Standard Ceramics had begun renovating the site in July 1998 prior to its
purchase, as part of an agreement with the city that would allow the company to
withdraw from the sale if unexpectedly high levels of contamination were discovered.
The company invested $659,000 to renovate two of the property's three buildings, including
upgrading electrical systems, installing a new power substation, and conducting asbestos
abatement. In addition, the New York Energy Research and Development Authority is pro-
viding Standard Ceramics with research funding and technical assistance to test the market
viability of new products. If market viability proves successful, the company will expand
onto another Niagara Falls brownfields site, creating up to 100 new jobs. Furthermore, as
part of the property sales contract with the city, Standard Ceramics has agreed to give prefer-
ence to expansion within Niagara Falls, to ensure that local residents are hired for its opera-
tions. In return, the property was sold to Standard Ceramics at approximately one-fifth its
market value.
Four additional assessments on sites previously utilized as
a scrap metal yard, an asphalt manufacturing facility,
an unregulated dump site, and a battery manufac-
turing facility were completed by Spring 1999.
One site did not require cleanup, and cleanup
has begun on the other three properties. The
city is already marketing those sites—total-
ing 17.5 acres—in an effort to stimulate re-
development. Plans are also underway for
the Pilot to fund additional assessments that
will help further the city's economic revital-
ization of more than 100 acres that are poten-
tially available for redevelopment. For more in-
formation on the Niagara Falls Brownfields Pilot,
contact Sherrel Henry at (212) 637-4273.
I
Brownfields Success Story
June 2001
Niagara Falls, NY
EPA 500-F-01-224
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