SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency and
Remedial Response
(5201 G)
July 2000
Superfund Redevelopment
Pilots
Metal Bank
Philadelphia, PA
EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) is a nationally coordinated effort to facilitate the return of Superfund
sites to productive use by selecting response actions consistent with anticipated use. The SRI Pilots are intended to
help local governments enhance their involvement in the Superfund decision-making process by assisting EPA in
predicting future land uses for Superfund sites. Under the Pilot Program, EPA will provide up to $100,000 in financial
assistance and/or services to local governments for specified activities. Applicants are offered several types of program
assistance, including funding through a cooperative agreement, access to facilitation services, and/or the availability of
personnel under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA).
BACKGROUND
EPA selected the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
for a Superfund Redevelopment Pilot. Tacony, an
industrial area in northeast Philadelphia by the
Delaware River, is home to the one-acre Metal Bank
Superfund site. From 1968 to 1972, Metal Bank of
America, Inc., drained oil from used transformers to
reclaim copper parts. In 1972, the U.S. Coast Guard
traced oil slicks in the river to the Metal Bank property.
A 1978 study by the Coast Guard showed that 20,000
gallons of PCB-contaminated oil was in groundwater
and would eventually leak into the Delaware River. In
September 1983, EPA added the site to its list of
hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. The site is in
an economically disadvantaged community and is near
a Brownfields Pilot.
OBJECTIVES
The presence of the Metal Bank site and other derelict
land parcels in the Tacony section of Philadelphia
blighted the neighborhood and greatly decreased the
safety and economic vitality of Tacony. The
Philadelphia Commerce Department will determine the
viable reuse options for the site by convening a
steering committee of residents, businesses, and
government representatives. The city's goal is to use
this site's redevelopment as a springboard to reversing
the neighborhood's misfortunes. The city, in
conjunction with the steering committee, will use the
process of redeveloping the site as a guide when
preparing a comprehensive plan to revitalize the
riverfront area.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Harrisburg
Metal
Bank


Applicant Name: Philadelphia, PA
Site Name: Metal Bank
Date of Selection: July 2000
Anticipated Award: Cooperative Agreement
($100,000)
Profile: The city will create a plan for reusing
the site, which will serve as a springboard for
revitalizing the neighborhood's riverfront area.
Contacts:
Linda Dietz	Superfund Hotline:
U.S. EPA Region 3	(800) 424-9346 or
(215) 814-3195	(703) 412-9810 (DC Metro Area)
dietz.linda@epa.gov	reuse.info@epa.gov
Visit the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Web site
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pilot.htm

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