United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
  Solid Waste
  and Emergency
  Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-120
April 1997
                       National   Brownfields
                       Assessment  Pilot
                                                   Niagara Falls,  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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots 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.
OVERVIEW

EPA has  selected the City of Niagara Falls as a
Brownfields Pilot.  Between  1960 and 1990, the
city's population  declined substantially,  and the
manufacturing worker population dropped by one-
third.  Industries have left the area, leaving idle sites
thatare amajor problem for NiagaraFalls. Seventeen
of these former industrial sites, encompassing 386
acres, are suspected of containing contaminated soil
or groundwater and are unmarketable as a result of the
environmental stigma.  No tracts of undeveloped,
uncontaminated land remain for development within
the city; therefore, brownfields cleanup is imperative
for  economic growth.   To promote successful
redevelopment of the properties, the environmental
risks must be defined accurately to encourage interest
by banks and developers.

Of the 17 contaminated sites, four have been targeted
for the pilot.  Because the four sites are within the
state-designated Economic Development Zone, the
city will be able to offer tax credits and utility rate
reductions  to  new or  expanding  businesses.
Redevelopment of these sites will  provide an
opportunity for  Niagara Falls to revitalize
economically disadvantaged areas, provide jobs,
augment the city's dwindling tax base, and limit
urban sprawl and infrastructure maintenance costs.
  PILOT SNAPSHOT
                     Date of Award:
                     April 1997

                     Amount: $195,250

                     Site Profile: Four sites
                     within the City's industrial
                     area are targeted for the
                     pilot.
 Niagara Falls, New York
Contacts:

Dan Gagliardo
Department of
Environmental Services
(716)286-4460
 Larry D'Andrea
 U.S. EPA-Region 2
 (212)637-4314
 dandrea.larry@
 epamail.epa.gov
        Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
        http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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OBJECTIVES

The city's goal isto provide guidance in redeveloping
under-used and potentially contaminated properties.
The  city will use a systematic approach  toward
redevelopmentthat includes outreach, risk assessment,
and environmental education.  For each of the four
sites targeted in the pilot, the city will develop cost
estimates  for  rehabilitation,  demolition, and
remediation and  will identify potential financing
sources.  Experience gained from the pilot  will be
used to address additional sites with contamination
concerns and redevelopment potential.

ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this pilot include:

• Conducting detailed investigations of four targeted
 sites to determine the extent of contamination;

• Planning for the cleanup of each of the four targeted
 sites, and developing cost  estimates;

• Creating a comprehensive education and outreach
 program that addresses the needs of the Economic
 Development Zone neighborhoods;

• Establishing an Environmental Awareness Center
 to develop,  coordinate, implement, and document
 environmental education programs; and

• Coordinating pilot activities with ongoing  brown-
 fields efforts conducted by the city's Departmentof
 Environmental Services.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated;  therefore,  activities described in this  fact
sheet are subject to change.
 National Brownfields Assessment Pilot                                              Niagara Falls, New York
 April 1997                                                                        EPA 500-F-97-120

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