United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-027
May 1997
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Oregon Mill Sites
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 selectedthe Oregon Economic Development
Department for a Brownfields Pilot. The Mill Site
Conversion Project, is a public/private partnership
created to return seven vacant mill sites in rural
communities to productive use. The Rural
Development Initiatives, Inc. is the lead
organization of the partnership that include s Pacific
Corporation, U.S. Bank, and the lawfirm of Stoel,
Rives, Boley, Jones and Grey. In many of these
communities, these sites representthe only property
zoned for industrial use. To create new jobs,
vacant sites must be converted into usable,
environmentally and financially viable industrial
property. Due to the risk and liability associated
with the sites, the mill properties have either been
abandoned and condemned by the community for
backtaxes, or "warehoused" by mill owners. Many
sites contain chemicals, transformers, and asbestos
which are slowly deteriorating and pose a potential
threat to human health, soil, and groundwater.
These sites are located in the towns of Astoria,
Bandon, Coquille, Klamath Falls, Molalla, Myrtle
Creek, Philomoth, Sweet Home, and Tygh Valley
and, and cover more than 550 acres.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
State of Oregon
Date of Award:
September 1995
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets nine abandoned
mill sites located in
Astoria, Bandon, Coquille,
Klamath Falls, Molalla,
Myrtle Creek, Philomoth,
Sweet Home, and Tygh
Valley. Collectively, the
mill sites cover more than
500 acres.
Contacts:
Dana Peck
Mill Site Conversion
Coordination
(503) 236-0270
Matt Wilkening
U.S. EPA-Region 10
(206)553-1284
wilkening. richard@epamail.
epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
The Mill Site Conversion Project is working to
rehabilitate vacant and abandoned mill sites into
productive industrial and commercial properties and
enable surrounding communities to recruit, expand,
and retain businesses. Ultimately, the project aims to
bring new and diverse employment opportunities to
rural areas in Oregon.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Formulated a scope of work for review by Rural
Development Initiatives, Inc. (RDI)'s mill site
advisory committee;
• Begun Phase I and II environmental assessments at
seven vacant mill sites; and
• Published the Siteline newsletter to build awareness
in the community of the project's progress and
activities.
The Pilot is:
• Developing assessment and cleanup approaches,
quantifying costs, and evaluating the potential for
generic cleanup remedies for the seven mill sites in
orderto help developers assesstheir cleanup liability,
financing options, and development risks, and to
establish cleanup standards for similar abandoned
mill sites;
• Creating a computer model to measure the costs and
benefits of various cleanup options, and to help
guide development of tax incentives and other
financial methods for encouraging assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment. The models will help
community and regulatory agencies assess the
benefits of various financing options while giving
property owners and developers a means to evaluate
the benefits and relative risks of redevelopment;
• Developing site-specific reuse plans that are
consistent with redevelopment opportunities, local
economic development strategies, infrastructure
needs, environmental and land-use planning
requirements, and the goals of developers;
• Coordinating interaction between project
stakeholders and partners; and
• Establishing Local Action Committees in affected
communities to ensure broad community
participation in the brownfield redevelopment
process.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the Oregon Mills Pilot has been a
catalyst for related activities including the following.
• Based on a risk assessment report, the Astoria site
has been identified as an opportunity for use of
planning funds in cooperation with Oregon's
Department of Environmental Quality and
ShoreTrust Advisory Services. ShoreTrust Advisory
Services loanedthe City of Astoria $700,000 for use
in brownfields cleanup.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot
May 1997
Oregon Mill Sites
EPA 500-F-97-027
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