United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-312
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Columbus, OH
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote
their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion
or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: assessment demonstration
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test
assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels;
and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities
affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental
field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance
for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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 the City of Columbus to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Although
Columbus has grown significantly over the past two
decades, development has moved away from the
urban core, leaving many potentially contaminated
former industrial sites. Factory closures have
contributed to high unemployment and crime rates
and a lack of new economic opportunities on land
perceived to be contaminated. These problems
contributed to the decision to designate portions of
the city as a federal Enterprise Community (EC).
The city's original Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot focused on Phase I and II
environmental assessments of four large industrial
sites in the urban core where industries, such as
steel, auto parts, smelting, and aviation, once employed
thousands of people. The Pilot also helped leverage
state, local, and private investment in brownfields
sites and expand neighborhood-wide reinvestment
projects in the state-designated Enterprise Zone
(EZ). With the experience gained from the original
Pilot, Columbus is ready to expand its brownfields
activities.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Columbus, Ohio
Date of Award: April 2001
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
eight high-priority brownfields
located within thecity's urban
core, portions of which have
been designated a state
Enterprise Zoneandafederal
Enterprise Community.
Contacts:
Columbus Department of
Trade and Development
(614)280-0899
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(734)692-7681
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Supplemental assistance will be usedto assess eight
additional brownfields sites using a framework that
expands on the original Pilot and includes more
community outreach and involvement. Three of the
eight target sites are within the state EZ, and one is
within the federal EC. The supplemental assistance
also will be usedto expand community involvement
and create partnerships to spur neighborhood-wide
reinvestment.
The Pilot plans to:
• Perform Phase I environmental site assessments
at eight sites, four of which are located in the state
EZ or federal EC;
• Perform at least two Phase II environmental
assessments;
• Expand community involvement and outreach
activities; and
• Work closely with partners, including those involved
with the EZ and EC initiatives, to leverage
neighborhood investment.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this tact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Columbus, Ohio
April 2001 EPA 500-F-01-312
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