EPA-560-F-238
                                                                                                                  March 2008
FORMER  INTERNATIONAL  HARVESTER  SITE
                             In  Canton, a  Storied  Industrial  Property
                                        is Rising from its own Ashes
                                                  Canton, IL
                                      Assessment/Cleanup Grants
     ADDRESS:         260 E. Elm Street, Canton, IL 61520
     PROPERTY SIZE:     33 acres, divided into 5 parcels
     FORMER USE:      Heavy-duty farm equipment manufacturing, tire shredding and processing,
                     mobile home scrap recovery, sandblasting, and other industrial operations
     CURRENT USE:     Cleanup is in progress; the site's master plan calls for mixed-use, primarily
                     commercial redevelopment
     EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
     The City of Canton has received $ 1.3 million in EPA Brownfields
     grants. This includes $500,000 in Assessment grant funding,
     $200,000 in Supplemental Assistance grant funding, and $600,000
     in Cleanup grant funding.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
Illinois EPA (IL EPA),
U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS)
For additional data and geographic information for this and
other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPAs:
Envirofacts - www. epagov/envi ro/html/bms/bms query, html
Enviromapper - www. epagov/envi ro/bf
    PROJECT BACKGROUND:
    For more than a century, the International Harvester property served as the economic lifeblood of the City of Canton, Illinois. Located in
    the city's center, the 33-acre site was used to manufacture farm implements and equipment from  1850 through 1984. In a city of
    approximately 15,000 residents, the plant's closure eliminated nearly 3,000 jobs, leading to unemployment rates of more than 17
    percent in the years following. The property was eventually sold to a tire recycling company that leased individual parcels for other
    industrial  operators, until the recycling facility itself closed in 1993. The IL EPA ordered a removal action of more than 6,000 tons of
    tires and tire waste material in 1995, which proved to be an invaluable decision; two years later, an arsonist destroyed most of the
    facility in what was the biggest fire in Canton's history. Fulton County took ownership of the property in  1999,  with the City of Canton
    named as  the site's controlling trustee. That same year, the U.S. EPA started cleaning up the site under the Agency's Emergency Response
    Program—removing chemical containers, asbestos, charred brick and steel debris, and above- and underground storage tanks. A
    number of storage tanks were also removed by an International Harvester subsidiary company. U.S. EPA spent  more than $2 million on
    this emergency response, while the IL EPA provided an additional $350,000. During this cleanup, a redevelopment specialty firm hired
    by the city helped Canton apply for funding under EPA's Brownfields  Program, figuring the site a perfect fit. The city applied for and
    received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment grant in 1998—the first of what would eventually total $1.3 million in Assessment and
    Cleanupgrants under the Brownfields Program.

    KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
    •   A partnership between U.S. EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provided
        approximately $75,000 to conduct an area-wide groundwater investigation.
    •   The city created a "Redevelopment Advisory Committee" com prised of local officials,
        community leaders, and business representatives to solicit input  and establish public buy-in
        for the redevelopment process. The project enjoys widespread public support.
    •   To date, more than $5  million in federal, state, and private funding has been leveraged for
        assessment and cleanup—including the removal of more than 2,000 chemical containers
        and 19,000 tons of contaminated material.
    OUTCOME:
                           The former International Harvester site,
                          following demolition of remaining structures.
    While cleanup of the former International Harvester site is in progress, one parcel has already
    received a draft "No Further Remediation" letter from the IL EPA; this letter will become finalized once a planned cap for the parcel is in
    place. A developer has committed to this parcel, with plans for commercial/retail uses that include a new restaurant. The City of Canton
    has approved an area-wide redevelopment plan in which planned retail, commercial, and cultural reuses of this centrally-located
    property will likely encourage further revitalization—while restoring community pride and appreciation for a property that played a key
    role in the area's history.
    FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 5 at (312) 886-7576

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