u
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                          Brownfields
                          Supplemental Assistance
                          City of Newport News,  VA
BACKGROUND

EPA awarded the City of Newport News supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot. NewportNews (population 182,000)is a linear city
located in southeastern Virginia where the James River
meets  the Chesapeake Bay. It served as the eastern
terminus of the first transcontinental railway. It is still
home to many shipyards and the point of departure for
thousands of American soldiers. The Victory Arch, built
to commemorate the city's role in soldier deployment
during both World Wars, is located in what is now the
oldest section of Newport News. As the city expanded
northward, investment in the older downtown decreased
leaving the Victory Arch surrounded by old abandoned
factories and shipyards. The neighborhood currently
contains the highest proportions of racial minorities and
low-income residents in the city.

The city's goal is to recycle the underused and abandoned
commercial and industrial properties that represent the
small  amount  of land available  for  Newport News'
economic growth. The original Pilot enabled the city to
conduct  environmental  site  assessments on seven
properties in the Southeast Community and downtown.
In addition, the  original Pilot established the framework
for the city' s brownfields program, compiled an inventory
of brownfields  in the southern portion of the city, and
involved citizens and businesses in the brownfields
redevelopment process.  Supplemental assistance is
needed to continue the process of revitalizing the Victory
Arch Brownfields Initiative Target Zone.

OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES

Newport News will use the supplemental assistance to
select  a minimum of three sites  in the Victory Arch
Brownfields Initiative Target Zone that offer the best
opportunity for sustainable success and conduct site
assessments at  those sites. The Pilot will focus on the
   PILOT SNAPSHOT
    City of Newport News,
    Virginia
Date of Announcement:
May 2002

Amount: $150,000

Profile:  This Pilot targets at
least three sites in the Victory
Arch Brownfields Initiative Target
Zonefor assessment and reuse
planning.
   Contacts:

   Newport News
   Department of Planning
   and Development
   (757)926-3805
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 3
(215)814-3129
       Visit the E PA Region 3 Brownfields web site at:
       http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.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:
             www.epa.gov/brownfields

downtown, Chase B ag/Seafood Industrial Park, and the
CSX Rail Corridor areas of the target zone. Supplemental
funds  also will be used to update its inventory of
brownfields and involve the community through public
forums and meetings.

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Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Selecting at least three properties in the Target Zone for
  assessment and characterization;

• Updating the city's inventory of brownfields; and

• Continuing community involvement programs.

ThecooperativeagreementforthisPilothasnotyetbeennegotiated;therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                                                Solid Waste            EPA 500-F-02-087
                                                                and Emergency         May 2002
                                                                Response (5105)       www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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