Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

Freeport, 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

Freeport, IL

Date of Announcement:
April 2001

Amount: $200,000
Greenspace: $50,000

Profile: The Pilot targets brownfields located in an old, mixed-use industrial area adjacent to Freeport's central business district, especially the Rawleigh Complex, which has been subject to other assessment and cleanup work.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Freeport 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. Located in northwestern Illinois, Freeport (population 25,840) has been a major transportation hub since the 1800s, serving road, rail, and river traffic. For this Pilot, the city has targeted a section of the downtown that includes the Rawleigh Complex, an old, mixed- use industrial area. About 25 percent of the residents living in the target area are minorities and 58 percent are low-income residents.

After freestanding mercury was found at the Rawleigh Complex in 1999, the city worked with the Illinois EPA and U.S. EPA to conduct initial assessments. In 2000, approximately 500 tons of contaminated soil and 210 drums of liquid waste were removed. That action discovered the presence of other contamination to be addressed. However, a complete assessment has not yet been funded, and without it, the site will remain vacant, drain city resources, and impede neighborhood redevelopment. The city has made progress in securing funds for site cleanup under the Illinois Site Remediation Program when the Pilot assessment is complete.

OBJECTIVES

The main Pilot objective is to complete Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments at the Rawleigh Complex. Pilot funds also will be allocated to pay for costs incurred by enrollment in the state's voluntary cleanup program, and to develop a community involvement program and materials for the Rawleigh Complex.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

Identifying, assessing, and characterizing environmental contamination on parcels within the targeted Pilot area, including the Rawleigh Complex;
Forming a steering committee of community-based stakeholders to evaluate redevelopment alternatives for parcels within the Pilot area;
Conducting outreach activities designed to inform the public about the Pilot and garnering input for the assessment and redevelopment plans; and
Addressing environmental justice issues raised by contamination of properties in the Pilot area.

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 Freeport
(815) 235-8207

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312) 886-7576

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 (5105)

EPA 500-F-01-265
April 2001

Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)

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