Brownfields 2002 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
City of Lancaster, Ohio
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 Lancaster for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Located 30 miles southeast of
Columbus, Lancaster (population 35, 335) is growing
quickly, and soon will be transformed from a small city
to a thriving suburb of the state capital. While rapid
residential development has brought many new residents,
jobs are leaving the city. Recently, five manufacturing
firms left the city in one year, and other firms are in the
process of closing down. Unplanned and haphazard
growth could threaten to destroy the city's most attractive
assets, including natural areas, historic structures, natural
woodlands, and the Hocking River corridor. The city
wants to manage its growth and prevent sprawl by
attracting a greater mix of development back into the
city. To accomplish this, they have targeted former
industrial properties that have become brownfields for
redevelopment.
Unlike many larger cities with industrial corridors,
Lancaster's brownfields are scattered throughout the city,
often bringing blight and health and safety risks to
adjacent residential areas. The Pilot targets two
properties that occupy 16 acres in a mixed-use
residential, commercial, and industrial area on the
southeastern edge of the city. The 11-acre Anchor
Hocking Plant #2 property employed more than 3,000
people until it closed in the 1980s, after 50 years of
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $200,000
Profile: City of Lancaster, Ohio.The Pilot targets
two properties that occupy 16 acres in a mixed-use
residential, commercial, and industrial area on the
southeastern edge of the city for redevelopment.
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 Lancaster,OH
(740)687-6606
Objectives
Due to rapid growth and the loss of local jobs, the City
of Lancaster wants to maximize use of available land by
cleaning up brownfields and returning them to
productive use. The city's objective is to remove
environmental threats, help expand local businesses,
and attract new businesses that will increase and
diversify local employment and help Lancaster stay
competitive with surrounding communities during a
time of rapid growth. The Pilot will assess
environmental conditions, develop cleanup strategies,
and quantify cleanup costs for the Anchor Hocking
Plant #2 and Frick Gallagher property sites. Once site
assessments are complete, the properties will be eligible
for cleanup and redevelopment financing through Ohio's
new Clean Ohio Fund, which will be available for only
four years, beginning in 2002.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-049
May 02
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operation. The 5-acre Frick Gallagher property once
housed a battery manufacturer, but the environmental
conditions at the site currently are unknown. Residential
areas abut both properties, and one of them is next to a
playground. The median income in the target area is
$28,114, as compared to the state average of $43,852.
Approximately 13 percent of Lancaster's residents live
below the poverty level.
• Conducting environmental site assessments at the
Anchor Hocking Plant #2 and the Frick
Gallagher property sites;
• Developing cleanup strategies for each site based
on data collected and future use;
• Quantifying cleanup costs for each site in a
report that meets the requirements of the Clean
Ohio Fund; and
• Developing and implementing a community
relations strategy, which will include developing
informational materials, forming a Brownfields
community advisory group, and participating in
community events.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-049
May 02
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