&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-186
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Ford City, PA
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 200 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 Ford City for a Brownfields Pilot.
The City, located in Armstrong County in
Southwestern Pennsylvania, built its heritage on
glass manufacturing. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company
(PPG Industries, Inc.) built a large tract for its
operations along the Allegheny River Basin, and
Ford City was established around this site. The
decline of the glassworks industry began in the 1950s
and ended with the closing of the plant and the razing
of the buildings by 1994. The closing of the PPG
facility had an adverse effect on the area's economy,
with a 48% reduction in tax revenues due to the
exodus of over half of the population. Poverty and
unemployment rates are 15.7% and 9.52%,
respectively.
The project area consists of 274 acres of vacant and
underused industrial properties along the Allegheny
River Basin. One target site is the abandoned PPG
Industries tract, of which 47 acres are cordoned off
and possibly contaminated with arsenic from glass-
making processes. Another site, a former slurry area
(containing glassworks residuals) and sand plant, is
also in need of cleanup and redevelopment The City
believes that restoration of these properties will
provide new job opportunities, thereby stimulating
the economy and returning the areato its former level
of prosperity.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Ford City, Pennsylvania
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The City plans to
target several industrial
properties along the
Allegheny River Basin for
assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment.
Contacts:
Ford City Borough
Council
(724) 763-3081
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 3
(215)566-3129
Visit the EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/brownfld/hmpage1.htm
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, browrrfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Browrrfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the Pilot project is to facilitate the
reuse of former industrial properties within the
Allegheny River Basin communities. Two non-
profit organizations, Development Strategies and
Concurrent Technologies Corporation, will team
together with the City to conduct site assessments at
the target sites. Additional activities will include
evaluating environmental assessment information,
combining cleanup design and redevelopment
scenarios, investigating and identifying potential end
users, and identifying additional funding sources for
cleanup and redevelopment.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying, categorizing, and prioritizing potential
brownfields sites for redevelopment;
• Conducting environmental site assessments and
health-based risk assessments at the target sites to
identify sources of contamination;
• Developing an integrated cleanup and
redevelopment plan for the target sites;
• Identifying alternative funding opportunities from
public and private sector sources; and
• Coordinating community outreach and public
awareness activities through multimedia
applications, public meetings, and informational
mailings.
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 Ford City, Pennsylvania
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-186
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