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Brownfields 2002 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
City of Lackawanna, New York
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 Lackawanna for a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot. Lackawanna (population
19,064) is located in Erie County just south of Buffalo in
western New York state. The city experienced rapid
growth in the early 1900s due to the construction of one
of the world's largest steel plants, which employed nearly
20,000 people. When the bulk of the steel mill's
operations closed in the early 1970s, many of the
associated industries closed as well. Since that time, the
population has declined by over 30 percent. The city has
identified three potential sites for assessment: the 3-acre
former incinerator site, the vacant Willett Road site, and
properties adjacent to the Seneca Railyard.
Lackawanna's economic downturn is exemplified by its
designation as an Enterprise Community and a New
York State Empire Zone. Due to the rapid decline in
population and jobs, 16.7 percent of Lackawanna
residents live below the poverty level and 9.4 percent are
unemployed. Forty-seven percent of the city's residents
have annual incomes of $20,000 or less.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $200,000
Profile: City of Lackawanna, New York. The Pilot
targets brownfields in an economically disadvantaged
community suffering from the loss of its steel
manufacturing industry.
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: City of Lackawanna,NY
(716)827-6681
Objectives
The city's overall objective is to develop a logical and
economically suitable means of making additional
property available for redevelopment. Redevelopment
will improve the quality of life for city residents and
increase long-term economic opportunities. To
accomplish this objective, the city will identify, screen,
and select sites that support Lackawanna's economic
development strategy.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Screening potential brownfields to identify the
sites with the highest potential for redevelopment;
•	Inventorying potential brownfield sites and
reviewing ownership and site-use histories to
identify potential environmental concerns;
•	Conducting environmental assessments to
identify and characterize environmental
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-048
May 02

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conditions;
•	Preparing focused remedial plans for each site
assessed that will include plans for reuse; and
•	Conducting community involvement activities
that will keep the public and community leaders
involved in the decision making process.
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-02-048
May 02

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