United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-313
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Evanston, WY
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 selected the City of Evanston to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
AssessmentDemonstrationPilotandadditional funding
for assessments at brownfields properties to be used
for greenspace purposes. The city (population 12,45 8)
originally was a railroad hub, and in 1913, the Union
Pacific Railroad built a large yard with a 63,000
square-foot roundhouse and 11 adjacent buildings.
Since 1972, Union Pacific has donated more than 290
acres to the city, including the 265-acre Union Center
parcel and the adjacent Roundhouse/Rail Facility,
which is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The perception of contamination at these
sites has hindered redevelopment. Like many small
towns, the city has limited resources to address its
brownfields challenges.
Evanston has been working to redevelop the Union
Centerproperty into amuseum and industrial business
park. Cleanup and redevelopment of this property will
restore a higher-paying job base to the area and
reconnect sections of the city that have been
fragmented by rail operations. The city's original
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
targeted the Union Center and the Roundhouse/Rail
Facility for assessment, cleanup planning, and
PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Award: APril 2001
Amount: $150,000
Greenspace: $50,000
Evanston, Wyoming
Profile: The Pilot targets the
historic Roundhouse/Rail Facility
and Union Center in the center of
Evanston and a 17-acre parcel
thatisintegraltothedevelopment
of greenspace amenities along
the Bear River within Evanston
city limits.
Contacts:
Evanston Urban Renewal
Agency
(307)783-6319
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 8
(303)312-6512
Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region08/land_waste/bfhome/bfhome.html
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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redevelopment planning. The original pilot was used
to conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment
on Union Center and partial Phase II site assessment
work of the Roundhouse/Rail Facility.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The city' s primary goal for the area is to redevelop the
sites and establish sufficient economic activity to
justify long-term maintenance costs. Supplemental
assistance will be used to conduct additional testing on
specific portions of the Roundhouse/Rail Facility,
continue conducting Phase II assessments on the
portions of Union Center owned by the city, and
modify cleanup and redevelopment plans based on
the results of the assessments. The supplemental
assistance also will be used to involve the community
inredevelopmentplanning.
The pilot will use the greenspace funding to assess a
17-acre parcel that is integral to the Better
Environment and River (BEAR) Project parkway.
The BEAR project takes a comprehensive approach
to development of the Bear River, which flows
through Evanston, into a pathway, ice ponds, and
recreation area. The targeted parcel is particularly
important to residents separated from the rest of
Evanston by the railroad and the river. The site was
used as a residential, commercial, and industrial dump
for 20 years. Greenspace funding also will be used to
conduct community involvement and related planning
to determine appropriate cleanup activities.
The Pilot plans to:
• Conduct additional testing on specific portions of the
Roundhouse/Rail Facility;
• Complete a Phase II assessment of Union Center;
• Conduct outreach activities to involve the community
in planning for the cleanup and redevelopment of the
Roundhouse/Rail Facility and Union Center;
• Modify cleanup and redevelopment plans based on
results of the assessments; and
• Assess a 17-acre parcel that is slated to become a
recreational area as part of the BEAR Project
master plan.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance
April2001
Evanston, WY
EPA 500-F-01-313
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