Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

Evanston, WY

EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.

PILOT SNAPSHOT

Date of Announcement: July 1998

Amount: $175,000

Profile: The Pilot targets the 265-acre Union Center and the Evanston Rail Facility for assessment, and planning for cleanup and redevelopment into a museum and industrial park.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Evanston for a Brownfields Pilot. The City was originally a railroad hub, and in 1912-1913 the Union Pacific Railroad built a large yard with a 63,000- square-foot roundhouse and 11 adjacent buildings. Since 1972, Union Pacific has donated more than 290 acres to the City, including a 265-acre parcel known as Union Center and the Evanston Rail Facility, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although some environmental investigation has been initiated at the Union Center property, more testing is needed to determine the extent of contamination and potential reuse options; otherwise, the fear of widespread contamination will continue to hinder redevelopment issues. Like many small towns, however, the City (population 12,458) does not have the resources, expertise, and experience to address its brownfields challenges.

OBJECTIVES

Evanston plans to redevelop the Union Center property into a museum and industrial business park. The City hopes that cleanup and redevelopment of this property will restore a higher- paying job base to the area and reconnect sections of the City that have been fragmented by the rail operations. The Pilot will assist the City's efforts by conducting a Phase I environmental assessment on the property. Based on the findings, Phase II site investigations will be conducted to quantify and delineate environmental risks from surface and subsurface soils, groundwater, and structures. The Pilot will develop community outreach and educational materials, and prepare an environmental cleanup and redevelopment plan. The City will contribute overall management and coordination of the community involvement plan.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments;
Conducting screening and risk assessments;
Conducting site-specific outreach efforts;
Preparing cleanup and redevelopment plans; and
Identifying alternative funding sources and leveraging existing resources throughout the Pilot process.

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

CONTACTS

Urban Renewal Agency
City of Evanston
Tel. (307) 789-9690

Regional Brownfields Team
EPA Region 8
(303) 312-6512

Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/Region8/land_waste/bfhome/bfhome.html

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: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)

EPA 500-F-98-227
July 1998

Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)

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