United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-078
May 1997
Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
West Jordan, UT
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.
BACKGROUND
EPA Region 8 selected the City of West Jordan for a
Regional Brownfields Pilot. The City has experi-
enced severe urban blight in its core downtown area.
Businesses leaving the area have left behind vacant
buildings, many of which may be contaminated from
past activities. Many ofthese sites representthe only
zoned industrial property in the City. In order to
support job creation and expansion, community revi-
talization, and reverse the declining trends of this
area, these brownfields must be cleaned up and
converted into usable industrial and commercial prop-
erty.
West Jordan has, since pioneer days, been a mining,
smelting, and industrial area serving the sugar, copper,
lead, zinc, and silver industries. The Bingham Creek
and Jordan River, bordering the targeted brownfields,
have long been used as a dump site for agricultural,
mining, refining, and other wastes. Pilot funding will
enable the City to focus efforts on reversing economic
and environmental blighting trends in the downtown
area. Further efforts will support the reclamation and
rehabilitation of a wide area adjacent to the river for
significant scenic, recreational, and environmental
benefits to West Jordan and neighboring communities.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
West Jordan, Utah
Date of Award:
September 1995
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets large areas of land
bordering the Bingham
Creek and Jordan River
that have been
abandoned or underused
after years of mining,
smelting, and other
industrial activities.
Contacts:
Bob Davis
West Jordan, Utah
(801)569-5070
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303)312-6803
Tom Daniels
Utah Department of
Environmental Quality
(801)536-4090
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfieids
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OBJECTIVES
The objective of the West Jordan Demonstration
Project is to reverse economic and environmental
blighting trends; increase assessed property value
and private investment; increase the number and
quality ofjobs; and create an attractive gate way to the
City. Ultimately, the City plans to redevelop a central
core area, which includes revitalizing residential and
commercial property, and provide for recreational
use and open space for residents.
AND
The Pilot has:
* Established a Pilot steering committee consisting of
government, business, and civic leaders that meet
monthly;
* Developed goals and objectives for the committee
and Pilot project;
* Established baseline economic data for the
brownficlds project area to assist in the master plan
and in measuring progress; and
* Completed a Phase I survey of project area, which
revealed numerous potentially contaminated sites,
many of which are abandoned.
The Pilot is:
• Developing a master plan for the brownfields area,
including sustainable recreation, historical, and light
industrial developments; and
• Determining appropriate remediation and mitigation
strategies.
Experience with the West Jordan Pilot has been a
catalyst for related activities including the following.
• Developed plans for the parkway development along
the Jordan River within the project area.
* Identified and applied for funding for brownfields
property acquisition and parkway development.
Proposing the use of zoning, as well as traditional
financing tools, to encourage expedited
redevelopment.
Exploring the recycling of construction debris
dumped in Bingham Creek and the tailings from
sugarplants, coppermines, andindustrial steel sites.
Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
May 1997
West Jordan, Utah
EPA 500-F-97-078
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