United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-118
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Schenectady, NY
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 Schenectady for a
Brownfields Pilot. Schenectady (population 65,566)
is located on the Mohawk River northwest of Albany.
The city's importance in the transportation and
manufacturing industries began with the opening of
the Erie Canal in 1823. In 1886, Thomas Edison
established Edison Machine Works, which later
became General Electric. From the turn of the
century to the early 1960s, General Electric, along
with the American Locomotive Company, played a
major role in Schenectady's economy and fostered a
period of steady growth. Subsequent failure or
downsizing of these companies' operations in the city
stopped the boom and ushered in an economic decline.
Today, Schenectady's population is down 30 percent
from its peak, and the number of residents employed
in manufacturing, once nearly 50 percent of the
workforce, is now only 5 percent. The loss of the
city's employment and tax base has had effects
elsewhere. More than 50 percent of the residents are
classified as low- to moderate-income, and almost 15
percent live below the poverty level. The city is a
federally designated Enterprise Community and a
state-designated Enterprise Zone.
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Schenectady, New York
Contacts:
City of Schenectady
(518)382-5093
Date of Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets up
to three brownfields in
Schenectady, a city in upstate
New York whose major
manufacturing industries have
closed or downsized.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/bfmainpg.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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Schenectady has acquired more than 250 potentially
contaminated properties through tax foreclosures,
and is interested in redeveloping those located in
commercial or industrial areas. However, the
environmental uncertainty surrounding the sites has
thus far discouraged these efforts.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's objective is to identify, target, and assess
brownfields sites whose cleanup and redevelopment
would contribute to the city's economic growth and
improve its environmental and public health. The Pilot
will seek to further the city's goals of public
involvement in environmental decision-making, a clean
and healthy environment, and economic revitalization.
Further, the city will work with EPA Region 2 to
integrate its new rapid site assessment program with
the Pilot.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying potential brownfields;
• Performing assessments at up to three sites, whose
selection will be based on environmental conditions,
redevelopment potential, and community concerns;
• Developing site-specific cleanup plans that account
for each site's potential reuse; and
• Performing community involvement and outreach
activities to inform residents about the project and
solicit their input.
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 Schenectady, New York
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-118
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