W5

+>	cF

** PRtfl'Sr

^ Brownfields 2002 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

Borough of Ambridge, Pennsylvania

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 Borough of Ambridge for a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The Borough of
Ambridge and Harmony Township (population 11,132)
are located on the eastern bank of the Ohio River in
southwestern Pennsylvania, about 15 miles from
downtown Pittsburgh. This historically industrial area
once was home to seven major steel mills and numerous
supporting industries and commercial properties. In the
late 1970s, the steel mills began to close. Mill properties
were sold, subdivided, and mothballed, and the number
of jobs in the area plummeted from 15,000 to 1,508
today. Approximately 20 percent of borough residents
live below the poverty level.

While one of the area's two major industrial corridors has
been successfully redeveloped, about 64 percent of the
industrial land in the Borough of Ambridge and Harmony
Township lies along the 2.5 mile corridor between State
Route 65 and Duss Avenue, which runs through the
middle of the two communities. This corridor includes a
mix of active small industrial properties, idle
brownfields, and underused industrial properties. The
borough estimates that approximately 262 acres of the
corridor may be considered brownfields.

Pilot Snapshot

Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $200,000

Profile: Borough of Ambridge, Pennsylvania. The
Pilot targets brownfields near an historic district for
environmental site assessment activities that will
encourage redevelopment of the district and
surrounding industrial property.

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: Borough of Ambridge,PA
(727) 266-4070

Objectives

The borough's objective is to encourage redevelopment
of brownfields in an historic district that has been
negatively impacted by the declining industrial
economy. The Pilot will accomplish this objective by
prioritizing brownfields sites for assessment and
performing Phase I and II site assessments on these
sites. The Pilot will also conduct community outreach
using Pilot funds. The targeted brownfields are
industrial sites closest to the historic district along the
State Route 65/Duss Avenue corridor.

Activities

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

•	Prioritizing sites for Phase I and II environmental
site assessment activities;

•	Conducting Phase II environmental site
assessments at the highest priority sites;

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)

EPA 500-F-02-039
May 02


-------
•	Conducting a Phase III environmental site
assessment on at least one site; and

•	Continuing community outreach activities by
sponsoring public discussions and informal
meetings.

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-02-039
May 02


-------