Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Akron, OH
EPA Brownfields Initiative
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into
law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants
through four competitive grant programs: assessment
grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and
job training grants. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA has selected the City of Akron for a Brownfields
Pilot. Akron was also selected to receive additional
funding for assessments at Brownfields properties to be
used for greenspace purposes. The Pilot targets
abandoned industrial properties throughout the City of
Akron, which has 223,019 residents and encompasses
62.2 square miles. In 1998, Akron's employment was
105,400 in a labor force that totaled 117,700, leaving
6,300 residents unemployed. The Pilot also targets the
historic Ohio & Erie Canal corridor.
Historically, Akron's economy has been rooted in rubber
manufacturing. In recent years, many of Akron's rubber
companies have relocated their operations outside the
city, leaving behind abandoned buildings and a legacy of
environmental concerns that have plagued the city's
redevelopment efforts. Akron's capacity for growth is
further hindered by the fact that only 2 percent of the
city's remaining land is available for development. With
a shortage of developable land and increasing demand
for sites in the area, the city is incorporating brownfields
cleanup into its economic redevelopment program. In
1994, the City of Akron was designated an Enterprise
Community by the federal government and "priority
investment area" by the State of Ohio.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 09/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
$50,000 for Greenspace
Profile: The Pilot plans to use the funding to identify
sites, perform environmental assessments, and
develop appropriate cleanup and redevelopment
plans for industrial sites scattered throughout Akron.
Greenspace funding will be used to conduct
environmental assessments in the Ohio & Erie Canal
area for eventual redevelopment that highlights its
historic significance.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit the
EPA Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Akron,OH
(330)375-2133
Objectives
The City of Akron's goal is to establish a successful
brownfields redevelopment process using Pilot funding
to create a model for future redevelopment efforts. Pilot
funding will be used to assess potential environmental
contamination in the Ohio & Erie Canal corridor and at
various other abandoned industrial properties throughout
the city.
The additional greenspace funding will be used to
conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments in the Ohio &
Erie Canal corridor to pave the way for cleanup and
redevelopment that highlights the historic and aesthetic
qualities of the area. The Pilot also will be utilized to
obtain input from the public and key stakeholders on
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-00-080
May 00
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potential reuse options.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Locating, identifying, and prioritizing
contaminated sites targeted for redevelopment;
• Assessing, characterizing, and developing
cleanup plans for targeted sites;
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
assessments on targeted sites;
• Identifying response or cleanup options for the
targeted properties;
• Conducting activities that foster community
involvement in the cleanup and redevelopment
planning processes in the targeted areas; and
• Evaluating preliminary design and planning
options for identified sites.
The information presented in this fact sheet comes from
the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of
this information. The cooperative agreement for the
grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
United States _ ., . w__tp
Environmental and Emergency EPA 500-F-00-080
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn May 00
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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