OGDENSBURG, NY

OVERVIEW

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected Ogdensburg NY as a Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot in May 1998.

Located on the St. Lawrence and the Oswegatchie Rivers in Northern New York, the City of Ogdensburg encompasses approximately eight square miles. Bordering with Canada, Ogdensburg strategic location on two navigable rivers stimulated industrial development in the early 19th century. Industries such as lumbering, paper production, boat building, merchant and custom milling, shade roller production, machine work and pump manufacturers developed along the waterfront. For over a century the city supported a large manufacturing base and grew to a population of 20,000 residents.

Consistent with state and national economic trends, most of these manufacturing industries experienced significant decline over the years, and began to close their doors in the mid 1900s. Thousand of jobs were lost and by the 1990 census the population had declined to 13,521. Today St. Lawrence County has one of the highest unemployment and poverty levels in New York State.

Over half of the City of Ogdensburg's undeveloped waterfront lands (over 70 acres on 12 parcels) are suspected to be contaminated. These 70 plus acres represent all of the city's undeveloped brownfields. Ironically these waterfront acres could also represent valuable real estate, but in their present condition they represent a gold mine that is environmentally unsound. The City of Ogdensburg Pilot Project's focus is therefore on the waterfront.

The City of Ogdensburg has entered into a cooperative relationship with eight state, county and city agencies to leverage available resources and funding in order to accomplish the following goals.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of Ogdensburg's Brownfields Pilot is to create new jobs by redeveloping brownfields sites. Specifically the pilot has targeted four sites for redevelopment. The four sites currently being prepared for redevelopment are:

Municipal Arena Site - The city has taken title to this site for the proposed construction of a municipal arena. Environmental testing was accomplished by securing financial assistance from the New York State Department of Transportation. The results of the tests were used to define the parameters of a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement between the City of Ogdensburg and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

Former Diamond International Site - The City of Ogdensburg worked cooperatively with the NYSDEC to enlist EPA support to remove over 100 barrels of chemicals and asbestos at this site. To date, EPA has spent over $700,000 on the removal action at the site. The city has secured a commitment from the Empire State Development Corporation for $500,000 infunding to demolish the existing structure and redevelop the site.

Lighthouse Point Site - This site contains historical artifacts of Fort LaPresentation, the original settlement of Ogdensburg. The city would like to acquire the site for the purpose of reconstructing the fort as a tourist attraction.

Former Tank Farm - This site is comprised of public and privately-owned property. The publicly owned portion of the site is being proposed for redevelopment as recreational athletic fields.

ACTIVITIES

1) Assessment and Identification of Sites: The City of Ogdensburg staff will assess and catalog sites that have known or suspected contamination using historic information and current environmental data when available.

2) Site Characterization and Prioritization: Based on the assessment information, sites will be characterized using two methods: a) Severity of environmental issues and their possible effects on the public and b) the site's potential for redevelopment. Sites which score high in both categories will be targeted for cleanup and redevelopment.

3) Site Response: The development of a clearly designed response to individual sites will be performed. This response will be geared toward the development of Voluntary Cleanup

Agreements at each site and the development of an economic redevelopment plan for each site.

4) Cleanup Planning and Design: Cleanup planning and design will consist of preliminary environmental testing at chosen sites which will help the pilot and the NYSDEC develop Voluntary Agreements for specific sites.

Regional Brownfields Hotline (800) 346-5009

For information, contact: brownfields.r2@epa.gov

OGDENSBURG, NY

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