Brownfields Assessment Pilots

PILOT SNAPSHOT	Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $200,000 Greenspace: $50,000
Target Area: City of Winchester, Virginia Profile: The Pilot targets five former industrial sites that have impaired the city's ability to implement its Comprehensive Redevelopment Master Plan and "Green Circle" Plan.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Winchester for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The city also was selected to receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Winchester (population 23,585) is a medical, industrial, commercial, and agricultural center located at the northern entrance of the Shenandoah Valley in northern Virginia. As an old city (founded in 1744), there are few properties within the city limits available for development, and many former industrial sites sit idle due to real or perceived environmental concerns. Some of these brownfields sites are barriers to implementation of the city's Comprehensive Redevelopment Master Plan, and negatively impact the health and safety of the community. Brownfields also impair implementation of the city's "Green Circle" Plan for using a series of creek beds that encircle the city to form a linear park and pathway that interconnect and tie together the outlying city areas through its historic downtown by bike and walking paths.

The city is currently considering five sites for the Pilot: a former power substation, a former agricultural station that may be contaminated with herbicides and pesticides, and a former lumberyard that was converted into a knitting mill and may be contaminated with residuals from wood treatment and chemicals used in the yarn dying process. Two other properties have been targeted for greenspace development. These sites may change based on a thorough review of all sites in the city's database of properties and community input. Roughly 18 percent of the city's residents are minorities, and 16 percent live below the poverty level.

OBJECTIVES

The city's primary objective is to redevelop key brownfields sites that are barriers to ongoing redevelopment and quality of life initiatives. This redevelopment will be guided by the city's Comprehensive Redevelopment Master Plan and "Green Circle" Plan. To achieve this objective, the Pilot will create an inventory of brownfields sites, select and assess priority sites, identify and remove other barriers to redevelopment of the priority sites, and convene community meetings and information exchange forums.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Identifying and prioritizing brownfields sites;
• Developing strategies for overcoming barriers to redevelopment;
• Assessing target sites;
• Preparing cleanup plans; and
• Creating forums for expanded and interactive community involvement.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.

CONTACTS

City of Winchester
Economic Development Commission
(540) 667-1815, ext. 478

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 3
(215) 814-3129

Visit the EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields