§ JQl\ Brownfields 1996 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet IWi Lima, OH 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 selected the City of Lima for a Brownfields Pilot. The project area includes an abandoned industrial site that is part of a planned 200-acre industrial park. Lima has been hard-hit by industrial closings and defense-downsizing in the 1970s and 1980s, employment in the industrial park has decreased from 8,800 to 550. Other brownfields impacts include a loss of supportive services to nearby residences, systematic institutional disinvestment (lenders, small businesses), increases in vacancy rates, and increased crime. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 09/01/1996 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets the Lima Locomotive works, an abandoned 65-acre industrial facility. The abandoned facility is part of a planned 200-acre industrial park. 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 5 Brownfields Team (312)886-7576 EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields) Grant Recipient: Lima, OH (419) 228-5462 Objectives Lima's brownfields effort is aimed at transforming the industrial park into a thriving, modernized industrial community that will provide new job potential. The focus of the Pilot is on the former Lima Locomotive works, an abandoned 65-acre industrial facility. The City views successful redevelopment of this site as key to their broader redevelopment efforts. Activities The Pilot is: • Conducting Phase I site assessments and planning at the former Lima Locomotive facility; • Conducting a brownfields blight survey within the City to identify other potential properties for redevelopment; • Implementing outreach activities in the community to provide information on site assessment and gain community input on United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-97-020 nil- a ancl Emergency .. Protection Agency Response (5105T) MaV97 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- planning for the industrial park; • Establishing an independent management board, including community representatives to oversee industrial park revitalization; and • Crafting legal agreements delineating partnership terms and financial arrangements for the assessment, remediation, and development of the industrial park. Experience with the Lima Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities including the following. • Working with a local university to study the effectiveness of phyto-remediation, the use of trees and shrubs to reduce concentrations of contaminants in soil. • Working with the Governor's Economic Development Office to enhance job creation with tax incentives. • Working with Ohio State agencies that offer economic development assistance to municipalities engaged in redevelopment activities. • Requiring industrial park lease terms to encourage the hiring of local residents. • Negotiation of an agreement with the facility property owner for entry of the facility into the Ohio voluntary cleanup program. 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-97-020 May 97 ------- |