United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-124
April 1997
f/EPA
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Wilmington,
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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, 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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots 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.
OVERVIEW
EPA has selected the City of Wilmington as a
Brownfields Pilot. Industrial development in
Wilmington began during the industrial revolution of
the 1800s and was centered along the Brandywine
and Christina Rivers. Recent studies by the Delaware
Brownfields Assessment Program have indicated that
most of the brownfields located along these rivers are
contaminated. Brownfields areas include Cherry
Island, the East Seventh Street Peninsula, the Port of
Wilmington vicinity, South Madison Street, Bell
Alley, Browntown, and Todds Lane. In addition,
smaller isolated commercial and industrial properties
are potentially contaminated. The communities
adjacent to these brownfields areas are comprised of
low-to-moderate income families experiencing higher
than average unemployment. Poverty rates in these
areas range from 12 to 66 percent, and unemployment
ranges from 6 to 20 percent.
There are approximately 1,750 acres of vacant,
abandoned, under-used, and contaminated properties
in the city. This reduction in the area available for
development limits the amount of tax revenue and
employment opportunities that can be generated. The
City will conduct an inventory and environmental
assessment of the properties as part of the City's plans
leading to redevelopment and revitalization of its
urban core.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Wilmington, Delaware
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The pilot will
focus on 1,750 acres of
abandoned or under-used
contaminated industrial
property along the
Brandywine and Christina
Rivers.
Contacts:
Emery C. Graham, Jr.
City/County Building
(302)571-4130
Tom Stolle
U.S. EPA-Region 3
(215)566-3129
stolle.tom®
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
Wilmington's objectives for the pilot are to create an
inventory of brownfields sites; increase neighborhood
capacity to participate in redevelopment decision-
making; plan for cleanup funding; and conduct
outreach activities to educate site owners and potential
developers, investors, and lenders about brownfields
redevelopment incentives.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Developing a cleanup and redevelopment planning
database that includes an inventory of all industrial
and commercial sites at which contamination may
be present;
• Encouraging neighborhood participation in
redevelopment planning and environmental justice
activities; and
• Establishing a brownfields remediation loan pro-
gram and working to secure Community Reinvest-
ment Act funding for the program.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Wilmington, Delaware
April 1997 EPA 500-F-97-124
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