United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response(5101) EPA500-F-99-148 June 1999 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ŁEPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Albuquerque, NM 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected bybrownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssitesandpreparetraineesforfutureemploymentintheenvironmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans 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 EPA has selected the City of Albuquerque for a Brownfields Pilot. Albuquerque, located in the north- central region of the state, has a metro-area population of 620,000. The Pilot project encompasses three areas designated as Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas (MRAs) that have high minority populations, high poverty rates, and have been economically impacted by brownfields. With the coming of railroads in the late 1800s, Albuquerque's population increased and industry grew in close proximity to the railroads. Environmental contamination resulting from businesses such as rail yards, meat packing plants, electrical generating stations, and wood products companies continues to adversely impact central-city neighborhoods, where 3,000 acres of brownfields have been identified. Eleven of these sites are within the three Pilot- targeted MRAs: central Albuquerque, the Sawmill/ Wells Park area, and La Mesa/Trumbull. These three areas are low-income communities which also contain industrial areas affected by real or perceived environmental contamination. PILOTSNAPSHOT nn Albuquerque, New Mexico Date of Announcement: June 1999 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets brownfields in central Albuquerque and the La Mesa/Trumbull and Sawmill/ Wells Park neighborhoods. Contacts: City of Albuquerque Albuquerque Development Services (505) 244-6642 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA - Region 6 (214) 665-6736 Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm For further 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/ ------- OBJECTIVES The Pilot project is a part of the city's overall redevelopment initiative, the goal of which is to encourage redevelopment and sustainable reuse. By conducting site assessments and facilitating cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields within the MRAs, the Pilot will enable the city's redevelopment initiative to move forward. Pilot plans also include creating a streamlined redevelopment process—a "one-stop- shop" for developers; developing a brownfields inventory and prioritizing sites; and involving the community and stakeholders in the redevelopment process using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Creating a brownfields inventory and prioritizing sites; • Conducting Phase I and Phase II site assessments on brownfields within the MRAs; • Tracking brownfields assessment activities and results in the city's existing geographic information system (GIS); • Establishing a Brownfields Advisory Consortium including members of the community, government, and businesses to address redevelopment planning; • Streamlining the city's redevelopment process by creating a "one-stop-shop"; and • Identifying redevelopment financing options. 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 Albuquerque, New Mexico June 1999 EPA500-F-99-148 ------- |