United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA 500-F-00-058
March 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
RCRA/Brownfields
Prevention
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 redevelopmentto worktogether in a timely mannerto prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
therefore 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 launching four RCRA/Brownfields
Prevention Pilot Projects forthe coming year to showcase the flexibility in RCRA, and, in particular,some of theconcepts
in the July 1999 RCRA Cleanup Reforms. The goal of this effort is to showcase successes that can help other
communities in modeling future innovations for cleanup and redevelopment at RCRA sites. Although these Pilots
will emphasize flexibility, EPA and the states will continue to ensure protection of human health and the environment.
Bethlehem Steel Corporation: Lackawanna, New Blue Valley Redevelopment Team:
York Kansas City, Missouri
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (BSC) facility in
Lackawanna, New York has been selected as a
RCRA/Brownfields Prevention Pilot. The site
formerly contained an integrated steel plant occupying
approximately 2.5 square miles (1,600 acres) and
extending one mile along the eastern shoreline of
Lake Erie. Steel was manufactured on the site from
the early 1900s to 1983. Since then, manufacturing
operations have been significantly reduced. In August
1990, an Administrative Order on Consent (ORDER)
was issued to BSC to perform a RCRA Facility
Investigation (RFI).
The goal atthis site is to remove approximately 600 acres
of the site from the RFI ORDER for redevelopment. As
this RCRA/Brownfields Pilot is implemented, it has the
potential to showcase several regulations, as well as
policy. Some of the types of actions that may be
highlighted include risk-based corrective action at RCRA
facilities, flexibility of land disposal restriction (LDR) soil
cleanup standards, and hazardous waste identification
rule (HWIR)-media regulations.
Under BSC' s proposed redevelopment plan, the existing
property would be used for a gateway trade center and
port, a medium industrial and transshipment distribution
center, abusiness and commercial center, light industrial
areas, and recreational areas such as a marina, open
buffer space, fishing areas, and trails.
Bethlehem Steel RCRA/Brownfields Pilot contact:
U.S. EPA Region 2 — (212) 637-4147
The Blue Valley Redevelopment Team has been
selected as a RCRA/Brownfields Prevention Pilot.
The Blue Valley area is on the east side of Kansas
City, Missouri, along the Blue River. The area
currently is considered "blighted" because many
businesses previously located in the area have moved
due to past flooding. The Blue Valley area has been
identified by Kansas City for investigation, cleanup,
and redevelopment as a part of its Brownfields
Demonstration Assessment Pilot cooperative
agreement with EPA. The Blue Valley
Redevelopment Team consists of representatives
from Kansas City, the Kansas City Economic
Development Corporation, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USAGE), the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources (MDNR), and EPA Region 7.
The team is dedicated to assessing and cleaning up
the area, thereby clearing the way for redevelopment.
Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas are
j ointly designated aBrownfields Showcase Community
The majority of the larger properties in the Blue
Valley area are RCRA-permitted facilities including
two former wood treating facilities with post-closure
permits, a steel manufacturing facility, and an active
pesticides production facility, as well as a number of
generators of hazardous waste. As part of the Pilot's
implementation plan, the redevelopment team intends
to explore, where possible, the flexibility in the RCRA
program to promote creative solutions to environmental
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assessment, planning, and cleanup, and to liability
concerns, thereby facilitating redevelopment efforts.
For example, MDNR has committed to redefining the
boundaries of the "facility" to exclude portions that
are uncontaminated or have been cleaned up under
the post-closure permit.
Blue Valley RCRA/Brownflelds Pilot contacts:
Blue Valley Redevelopment Team —
(816) 513-3001
U.S. EPA Region 7 — (913) 551-7719
PECO Energy Company: Chester, Pennsylvania
The PECO Energy Company's Chester facility has
been selected as a RCRA/Brownfields Prevention
Pilot. The 88-acre site is located at Jeffrey Street and
Delaware Avenue in Chester, Pennsylvania and
includes 3,200 feet of waterfront. Since 1993, PECO
has been subj ect to an EPA ORDER under RCRA to
characterize and address hazardous waste
contamination on 17 of the 88 acres, including 2,600
feet of waterfront. The site has been characterized,
and based on the results of the characterization,
PECO has put measures in place to remove petroleum
products found floating on the groundwater and on the
Delaware River.
The challenge of this project is to clean up the
remaining contamination at the PECO site while
accommodating economic redevelopment activities.
To accomplish this, the Pilot will use the administrative
flexibility available under RCRA and re-emphasized
in the RCRA Cleanup Reforms. Following EPA's
approval of PECO's cleanup plans, the City of Chester
hopes to turn the site into a waterfront park with a
marina, sports/entertainment center, public exhibition
hall, and retail shops.
PECO RCRA/Brownflelds Pilot contact:
U.S. EPA Region 3 — (215) 814-3421
CBS: Bridgeport, Connecticut
The CBS site in Bridgeport, Connecticut has been
selected as a RCRA/Brownfields Prevention Pilot.
From 1888 through 1988, the CBS Corporation
(formerly Westinghouse Electric Corporation - Bryant
Electric) site was a manufacturing facility for wiring
devices. EPA considers it a "high priority site" due
to its high National Corrective Action Prioritization
System (NCAPS) ranking. In 1994, EPA awarded a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant to the City of
Bridgeport to support the city's "West End
Redevelopment Project" through assessments and
community outreach. The proj ect is aimed at cleaning
up the facility, thereby paving the way for revitalization
of an economically depressed section of the city.
Under a 1995 Lease and Sale Agreement,
Westinghouse/CBS leased the site property to the
City of Bridgeport, Department of Planning and
Economic Development, for the purpose of
demolishing the site building. Ownership of the CBS
site is scheduled to be ultimately transferred to the
City of Bridgeport for redevelopment. As part of the
state Property Transfer Process, the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection and EPA
have been working together to ensure that the site is
investigated and cleaned up in compliance with the
State of Connecticut Remediation Standards and
applicable EPA Corrective Action requirements.
EPA has worked closely with Connecticut Property
Transfer staff in reviewing CBS' RFI work plans and
reports and in determining issues/deficiencies common
to both Federal and State programs. This Pilot is
expected to have a substantial impact on the successful
completion of an ambitious redevelopment plan
undertaken by the City of Bridgeport. It is also
expected to serve to demonstrate how EPA's
Corrective Action program can work in cooperation
with the State of Connecticut's cleanup program,
which is not authorized under RCRA for corrective
action but which has begun cleanup at the site to
ensure protection of human health and the environment
at this facility.
Bridgeport RCRA/Brownflelds Pilot contact:
U.S. EPA Region 1 —(617) 918-1360
Visit the EPA Brownflelds web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Fact Sheet
March 2000
RCRA/Brownfields Prevention Pilots
EPA 500-F-00-058
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