United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-287
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA EPA Brownfields
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
El Paso, TX
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
EPAhasselectedtheCityofElPasoforaBrownfields
Assessment Pilot. El Paso is located in the southwest
corner of Texas on the border with Mexico. The city
has targeted portions of the 10.8-square mile
downtown are a, known as El Comzon de El Paso,
the heart of El Paso, and other historic residential,
manufacturing, and industrial areas in the city for
brownfields redevelopment. The area has an
estimated population of over 57,000. The downtown
area includes a large railroad facility and through rail
lines. The city also borders the Rio Grande, an
American Heritage River. In the past, this ready
access to rail and river transportation attracted a
number of industrial and commercial businesses to
the area. In recent years, many of these businesses
have been abandoned. In addition to the downtown,
a number of industrial areas nearby have declined
since the 1960s. All of these areas are located within
afederalEmpowermentZone. More than 58 percent
of the Zone's population have incomes below the
poverty level, and 95 percent belong to minority
groups.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
El Paso, Texas
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilottargetsafour-
block section of downtown El
Paso and an area in South
Central El Pasofor Phase I and
Phase II environmental site
assessments. It also proposes
developing a brownfields
inventory of properties in South
Central El Pasotosupportfuture
efforts.
Contacts:
City of El Paso
(915)541-4680
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the E PA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
Forfurther 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/
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OBJECTIVES
El Paso's primary objective is to revive two areas in
the Empowerment Zone. These areas contain a
number of abandoned properties that are the object
of development efforts by stakeholder groups. The
city hopes to team with these groups to speed up the
redevelopment process. In addition to facilitating the
redevelopment of abandoned properties, the city
intends to establish green areas to attract new
residents and tourists. The Pilot will encourage
redevelopment by assessing properties in the
downtown and South Central El Paso areas, and by
establishing an inventory that will support future
planning for the redevelopment of potential
brownfields in the city.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
site assessments;
• Inventorying potential brownfields sites in the
downtown and South Central El Paso areas;
• Involving community groups and individuals in
brownfields site identification, assessment, and
cleanup planning; and
• Coordinatingtheexistingstakeholderorganizations
to maximize their effectiveness in redeveloping
targeted areas.
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 City of El Paso, Texas
April 2001 EPA500-F-01-287
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