&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-98-138
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Niagara County, 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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected Niagara County for a Brownfields
Pilot. Niagara County (population approximately
220,000) covers 530 square miles in the northwest
corner of New York and includes three cities, five
villages, and twelve towns. The county's major
industries (steel production, aircraft, chemical,
specialty ceramics and paper manufacturing) have
experienced a significant decline that has left many
potentially contaminated industrial sites vacant or
underused. Unemployment and per capita incomes
in Niagara County typically have lagged behind state
averages, andthe county's population dropped almost
9% from 1960 to 1990. The cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields sites in the county is
key to job creation and stabilization of the region's
economic health.
More than 70 sites in Niagara County are known to
contain hazardous substances, including 35 federal
Superfund sites. Many other abandoned and
potentially contaminated sites exist throughout the
county. However, the county lacks the resources to
catalog and assess brownfields. Niagara County's
Pilot will target three sites to establish a sustainable
process for identifying and assessing brownfields.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Niagara County,
New York
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
three sites for Phase I and
Phase II environmental
site assessments to serve
as models for cooperative
brownfields
redevelopment.
Contacts:
Department of Planning,
Development & Tourism
Niagara County
(716)439-7235
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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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's objective is to identify, assess, and plan
for cleanup and redevelopment that can return
contaminated and potentially contaminated sites to
appropriate uses. The Pilot will permit the county to
undertake a comprehensive process that benefits all
of its 20 communities. Pilot funds will be used to
catalog and map brownfields in the county; create a
working group of community stakeholders; provide
an effective process for public involvement; prioritize
sites; and identify mechanisms to fund brownfields
cleanup and redevelopment. Through this process,
three brownfields sites will be targeted for Phase I
and Phase II environmental assessments. The Pilot
will seek to achieve these objectives through
collaboration with, the inclusiveness of, and resource
sharing with all public and private stakeholders. As
a regional approach to identifying and assessing
brownfields, the countywide strategy will serve as a
model to illustrate that brownfields can benefit from
a regional planning, cleanup, and redevelopment
focus.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Creating an inventory of brownfields throughout
the county and using a geographic information
system (GIS) to map these sites;
• Establishing a publicly accessible Brownfields
Information Center which will house data created
during the program;
• Conducting outreach activities to educate and
involve residents and other stakeholders. This
process will be highly public, involving individual
citizens, block groups, and other stakeholders
throughout the Pilot;
• Creating an evaluation process to prioritize sites;
and
• Conducting site assessments at three high-priority
sites.
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 Niagara County, New York
May 1998 EPA 500-F-98-138
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