Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Fact Sheet

City of East Moline, IL

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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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:
April 2001

Amount: $150,000

Target Area: City of East Moline, IL

Profile: The Pilot targets three brownfields in an area of downtown East Moline known as The Quarter for environmental assessments, cleanup, and redevelopment.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of East Moline to receive supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. East Moline (population approximately 20,000) was founded as an industrial center over a century ago, and heavy industry and transportation have been the primary factors driving the community's economy. This industrial history has left an environmental legacy in the area that has discouraged new investment and revitalization. East Moline's future growth relies to a great degree on its ability to eliminate the blighted areas throughout the community and ensure growth and redevelopment of brownfields property.

The initial EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot funds were used to assess a former city landfill and the R&S Transportation site. These sites are situated between the Mississippi River and downtown East Moline in an area known as The Quarter. As a result of the dump's assessment, cleanup and construction of the first phase of the Beacon Harbor Parkway is underway, and a 2001 groundbreaking for an indoor soccer complex is expected. The entire riverfront and downtown redevelopment project area is 213 acres and contains several known or suspected brownfields, including the target area. Approximately 16.3 percent of East Moline's residents live in poverty, and the city has an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent.

OBJECTIVES

The City of East Moline plans to use supplemental assistance funds to conduct environmental assessments on three sites within The Quarter as well as pursue No Further Remediation Letters from the Illinois EPA (IEPA) for two sites after enrolling them in the state's Site Remediation Program (SRP). The city's goal is to stimulate the economy of the downtown area by spurring cleanup and redevelopment of The Quarter-land uses such as a sports complex, an interpretive nature center, offices, housing, a restaurant, and a marina will create a new economic base by creating jobs and increasing the tax base.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

Conduct Phase II environmental assessments on up to three sites within The Quarter;
Enroll two of these sites in the IEPA's SRP (voluntary cleanup program);
Prepare cleanup plans for the targeted sites in conjunction with the voluntary cleanup program;
Pursue No Further Remediation letters for the two sites in the SRP; and
Reconvene the Environmental Investigation Committee to discuss and disseminate project activity information, and conduct extensive outreach through community meetings.

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 East Moline
(309) 752-1513

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312) 353-0123

Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

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-01-302
April 2001

Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)

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