United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5105)
 EPA 500-F-01-261
 April 2001
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
  &EPA        EPA  Brownfields
                      Assessment
                       Demonstration  Pilot
                                                               Summit County,  CO
 Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                   Quick Reference Fact Sheet
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, and safely clean up
brownfields to promote their sustainable reuse.  Brownfields are abandoned,  idled, or under-used industrial  and
commercial  facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental
contamination. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years,
with additional funding provided for greenspace) to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment
and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and 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 program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance 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.
BACKGROUND

EPAhas selected SummitCounty for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. The county also was selected to
receive additional funding for assessments at
brownfields properties to be used for greenspace
purposes. The target area for this Pilot is the Peru
Creek Basin, a 15-square mile, sub-alpine basin
located 70 miles west of Denver. Peru Creek, which
runs through the target area, is a tributary of the
Snake River. About 3,000 people live year-round in
theSnakeRiverwatershedinSummitCounty, though
seasonal resort use swells that number to over
20,000. Approximately eight percent of the county's
residents live below the poverty level.

The hardrock mining industry left Summit County
with a legacy of contaminated and abandoned mine
sites that lay idle and continue to  degrade the
environment. Mining and its associated acid mine
drainage have significantly impacted Peru Creek.
Thefearofpotentialenvironmentalliabiliryhasstrained
community attempts to clean up contaminated sites
within the basin.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
SummitCounty, Colorado
Date of Announcement:
April 2001

Amount: $200,000

Greenspace $50,000

Profile: The Pilot will conduct
environmental site
assessments of 1,200 acres of
privately held mining claims in
the Peru Creek Basin of
SummitCounty.
Contacts:

Summit County Open Space
and Trails Department
(970)668-4067
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 8
(303)312-6982
     Visit the E PA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
   http://www.epa.gov/region08/land waste/bfhome/
               bfhome.html

   Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific 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/

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OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this Pilot are to identify, assess, and
plan response activities to address mining-related
contamination and revitalization in the Peru Creek
Basin. Through this Pilot, the county proposes to
conduct environmental site assessments of 1,200
acres of privately held mining claims. This Pilot will
create economic  benefit in Summit County by
improving andrestoringthenatural ecosystem, thereby
enhancing recreational opportunities. By using
brownfields tools to clean up contaminated sites, the
county proposes to develop solutions that may help
overcome amajorbarriertnathas inhibited theclean
up and redevelopment of abandoned mine sites
throughout the county, state, and country.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Gathering existing data and conducting preliminary
  environmental site assessments;

• Prioritizing sites on the basis of the preliminary
  assessments;

• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
  site assessments forthe highest priority sites;

• Developing cleanup plans; and

• Engaging the community in brownfields decisions
  through the county' s website, local newspapers,
  and public meetings.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot                                              Summit County, Colorado
 April 2001                                                                          EPA500-F-01-261

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