Brownfields 2002 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet City of Yankton, South Dakota 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 Yankton for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The city also was selected to receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Yankton (population 13,528) is located on the Missouri River in southeastern South Dakota. The city has targeted 250-acres along the Missouri River for this Pilot. The project area encompasses significant portions of the downtown business district, which has evolved from an industrial area into a mix of residential and commercial properties over the last 100 years. The city's industrial past is evidenced by the abundance of old industrial sites, abandoned railroad sidings, and agricultural chemical storage facilities. Yankton is concerned about environmental contamination from possible heavy metals, solvents, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and PCBs at abandoned sites in the target area. Many of the 442 potentially contaminated parcels in the project area have become barriers to public and private investment and have contributed to the economic decline of the riverfront project area. The riverfront's economic decline has severely impacted local residents. The 816 residents in the project area have a poverty rate of 25.6 percent, which is more than double the citywide rate. Per capita income in the project area is less than the citvwide income level, and the minority Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002 Amount: $200,000 $50,000 for Greenspace Profile: City of Yankton, South Dakota. The Pilot targets brownfields in a 250-acre riverfront business district that contains properties with potential environmental contamination from Yankton's industrial past. 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 8 Brownfields Team (303)312-7074 EPA Region 8 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region8/brownfields) Grant Recipient: City of Yankton,SD (605) 668-5200 Objectives Yankton's overall Pilot objective is to identify sites with potential environmental concerns and remove environmental obstacles that interfere with riverfront redevelopment opportunities. To accomplish this objective, the Pilot will fund environmental site assessments, cleanup planning, and community outreach along the river. Activities Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Conducting Phase I and II environmental site assessments on target sites in the project area; • Conducting community outreach; and • Preparing cleanup plans for selected sites. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-02-055 May 02 ------- population is 9.4 percent as compared to the citywide been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this figure 5.6 percent. 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 Q ., . ,A/__t,. Environmental andldEmSency EPA ******* Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn May 02 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I) ------- |