s OA Brownfields 1999 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet r-t> ,*> / Johnstown, WY 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 Johnstown for a Brownfields Pilot. Johnstown (population approximately 9,000) is the seat of Fulton County and is surrounded by rural and low-income areas. The city and county were once known as the leather capital of the world when more than 5,300 area residents were employed in the industry. However, changes in technology, foreign competition, and associated environmental problems resulted in plant closures, job losses, and a depleted tax base. Today, 8 percent of the residents are unemployed and Fulton's poverty rate of 13 percent is the highest of any New York county. The Pilot is targeting the former Karg Brothers Tannery, whose closure in 1993 resulted in about one quarter of the county's residents losing their jobs. The tannery was the largest of area operations and redevelopment of the 10-acre property is the cornerstone of the city's economic revitalization. The site, located on Cayadutta Creek, is known to contain storage tanks of solvents, acids, chromium compounds, dyes and pigments. Following assessment and cleanup, existing infrastructure will help spur redevelopment of the property. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 03/01/1999 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets the 10-acre former Karg Brothers Tannery for redevelopment. The site is a cornerstone for the city's economic revitalization. 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 2 Brownfields Team (212) 637-4309 EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region02/brownfields/) Grant Recipient: Johnstown, NY (518) 736-4014 Objectives Johnstown's objective is to increase employment opportunities for area residents and raise the city's tax base by redeveloping the Karg Brothers Tannery site. Revitalization of the tannery will also provide public access to the property and to adjacent Cayadutta Creek. The city also plans to integrate a portion of the site with neighboring Schriver Pond Linear Park, and locate a bus depot for the local school district on another part of the property. The Pilot will assist the city's plans by conducting environmental investigations on the property and involving the community in the redevelopment process with a Citizen Participation Plan. Activities Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Performing an environmental assessment of the Karg Brothers Tannery site; • Collecting soil samples from adjacent residential properties and testing water and sediment from United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-99-013 Mar 99 ------- Cayadutta Creek; • Developing a Public Participation Plan and conducting community outreach meetings; • Providing Pilot project information via the Internet; and • Leveraging cleanup and redevelopment funding, including a $200,000 goods and services commitment from the City of Johnstown. 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 and Emergency Response (5105T) Solid Waste EPA 500-F-99-013 Mar 99 ------- |