United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste And Emergency Response (5401G) EPA 510-F-00-008 October 2000 www.epa.gov Underground Storage Tanks And Brownfields Sites NEWJERSEY/Trenton EPA's USTfields Initiative will fund pilots in Brownfields communities to assess and clean up petroleum contamination from federally-regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) at idle or abandoned commercial properties. Petroleum contamination is generally excluded from coverage under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and is not, therefore, covered under EPA's Brownfields Program. In its USTfields Pilot Program, EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) has selected 10 state/local pilots in which the state will partner with a local area to assess and/or clean up two or more petroleum-impacted underground storage tank sites. Each pilot state will receive up to $100,000 of LUST Trust funds to be used to assess and clean up the local area sites. This will help to ready them for future reuse. BACKGROUND EPA selected the State of New Jersey as an USTfields Pilot. The State of New Jersey will work with the City of Trenton as its partnering local area. The city is a Brownfields Assessment and Showcase Community and is receiving over $2 million in federal resources to undertake a citywide cleanup of its brownfields sites. As part of the city's cleanup plans, the city identified several sites with underground storage tanks and actual or potential petroleum contamination. Petroleum contamination, however, generally cannot be cleaned up with funds from the Brownfields program. This has created an obstacle in Trenton's plans to clean up and redevelop its brownfields sites. OBJECTIVES Using pilot funds, the state will work with the local government to assess sites and clean up petroleum contamination, including MTBE contamination. Some of the future uses of cleaned up sites being considered include a new firehouse and a greenway along the Assunpink Creek. Once the petroleum- impacted sites are addressed, the City of Trenton should be able to continue its Brownfields cleanup and foster an accelerated process of returning vacant brownfields sites into community assets. Region 2 Trenton, New Jersey Applicant Name: New Jersey Local Partner: City of Trenton Date of Selection: October 2000 Profile: The State of New Jersey will work with the City of Trenton to clean up petroleum- contaminated sites currently presenting an obstacle to cleanup efforts. Contacts: EPA Region 2 Ben Singh (212) 637-4237 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Terri Smith (609) 292-1250 For further information, go to www.epa.gov/oust/ EPA USTfields INITIATIVE EPA and the state have not yet negotiated the Cooperative Agreement to fund this pilot; therefore, activities are subject to change. ------- |