u
                o
                           Brownfields
                           Supplemental Assistance
                           Naco  Fire  District,  AZ
BACKGROUND

EPA awarded the Naco  Fire District supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot. Naco is located on the Mexican border and is an
unincorporated town of about 750 people, 90 percent of
whom are Hispanic. The unemployment rate is more than
triple that of the surrounding county. Historically, Naco
was a cattle processing center. Although cattle dipping
occurred on the Mexican side of the border, a suspected
source of environmental concern is the pesticide residues
from cattle operations on the U.S. side. Another likely
source of pollution has  been the frequent flooding of
household and industrial waste from a defective waste
treatment plant across the border.  The perception of a
disproportionately high burden of potential environmental
hazards has reduced Naco' s quality of life relative to other
border communities.

The original Pilot completed Phase I and II environmental
assessments on a 2.5-acre parcel of an agribusiness site
and an adjoining property contaminated by flood waters
and an abandoned cattle processing area. Supplemental
funds will  be used to define possible environmental
contamination and conduct cleanup planning at the site of
Naco's new middle school that may have copper mine
tailings on site, a new business area that will be near a new
railroad and pedestrian border crossing that is downgrade
of former cattle  operations, and a truck stop  on the
northern edge of the original Pilot site. With international
assistance, Mexico has built amodernindustrial wastewater
treatment facility that should prevent future spills on the
U.S. side of the border.

OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES

The supplemental  assistance will be used to assess
environmental conditions at three sites designated  for
reuse as public facilities, including a school, new border
crossing facility for foot traffic, shops and transportation
service facilities, and expanded recreational areas. The
   PILOT SNAPSHOT
    Naco Fire District,
    Arizona
Date of Announcement:
May 2002


Amount: $150,000

Profile: The Pilot targets three
potentially contaminated sites in
east Naco that are needed for a
school, border crossing, and
shops inacommunitywith high
unemployment.
   Contacts:

   Naco Fire District
   (520)432-7040
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 9
(415)972-3270
        Visit the E PA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
     http://www.epa.gov/regon09/waste/brown/index.html

      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
Pilot areas are near or adjacent to the original Pilot site in
east Naco. Involvement of community and citizens groups,
county authorities, and Arizona State University  are
expected to continue through the supplemental grant
period.

-------
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting Phase I and II environmental assessments
  at three potentially contaminated sites in east Naco; and

• Conducting public outreach and involvement to ensure
  participation in the cleanup and redevelopment process.

The cooperative agreementforthisPilothasnotyetbeennegotiated;therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                                               Solid Waste            EPA 500-F-02-112
                                                               and Emergency         May 2002
                                                               Response  (5105)       www.epa.gov/brownfields/

-------