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Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Wheeling, WV
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 Wheeling for a Brownfields
Pilot. Due to the loss of heavy manufacturing jobs,
Wheeling's population has declined from a high of
61,659 in 1930 to 35,000 today. Because the city is
surrounded by mountainous areas, suitable development
properties are limited to the waterfront area, which has a
history of industrial activity. New industrial development
will therefore require recycling brownfields. No
comprehensive information is available, however,
regarding the environmental conditions at many of these
abandoned industrial sites. The community has difficulty
attracting new industry to these sites because of
uncertainty about potential environmental liability.
The Pilot will seek to build on some early Wheeling
brownfields successes. The city will try to take advantage
of modern transportation networks, a skilled workforce,
and a demonstrated spirit of volunteerism as it builds its
brownfields redevelopment program. To begin, the Pilot
will refine an existing inventory of potential brownfields
sites in the area and establish site cleanup priorities. The
Pilot also will target four primary sites for extensive
assessment and potential cleanup and redevelopment,
including the Former Roger's Hotel site, the former
Wheeling Closure site, and two other sites. These
properties are located in a neighborhood strategic
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will develop case studies of
landowner/cooperator redevelopment efforts on four
sites, and target four other sites for site
characterization and cleanup planning and design.
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 3 Brownfields Team
(215)814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr)
Grant Recipient: Wheeling, WV
(304)234-3701
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Objectives
The Pilot focuses on two specific objectives. First, the
Pilot intends to assess the environmental history and
potential for cooperative cleanup and redevelopment of
the four targeted sites. Second, the Pilot intends to use
these sites as case studies of a process for encouraging
cooperative brownfields cleanup and redevelopment
efforts. The city will ensure that these sites work through
the state's voluntary cleanup program. In addition, the
city has other potential federal funding available and
commitments from local banks and developers for
cleanup and redevelopment.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Conducting a formal investigation of all potential
brownfields sites in Wheeling to refine an
existing inventory of priority sites;
•	Conducting Phase I site assessments of the top
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-98-143
May 98

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redevelopment activity is ongoing. When more
comprehensive information is known about these sites
and contamination is cleaned up, the city will be able to
attract new industries and invigorate the local economy.
nine priority sites;
•	Conducting Phase II site assessments and
developing cleanup plans for the four primary
sites; and
•	Operating a brownfields cleanup education and
resource center to facilitate community
involvement at four targeted brownfields sites.
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-98-143
j. i- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV98
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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