United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-127
April 1997
vvEPA
National
Assessment Pilot
Dade County, FL
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 Dade County as a Brownfields
Pilot. Dade County is a large urbanized area situated
between two national parks and above a sole source
aquifer. It is also within the area targeted for
redevelopment as part of the State's "Eastward Ho!"
initiative. Dade County's urban expansion into
"greenfields" has left older commercial and industrial
sites in the urban core vacant and potentially
contaminated. The ability of many small service and
industrial businesses to pay for site remediation is
very limited. As in many cities, actual or perceived
contamination of inner city sites has contributed to
the economic decline of these areas.
The pilot will focus on the Poinciana Industrial
Center (PIC), which is a 30-acre, county-owned
property formerly used for various industrial and
commercial purposes. Additional environmental
assessment and remediation are required before the
site can be effectively redeveloped. The site is
located within a federal Community Development
Block Grant target area and is adjacent to a public
housing development. Area residents are low-income
minorities experiencing high levels of under-
employment and unemployment. Previous
community involvement in similar efforts indicates a
high probability of community support for the pilot.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Dade County, Florida
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The pilot will
address approximately 30
acres of former industrial
and commercial property
in an older, mixed-use
neighborhood of north
central Dade County.
Contacts:
Doug Yoder
Dept. of Environmental
Resources Management
Dade County
(305) 372-6766
Barbara Dick
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404) 562-8923
dick.barbara@
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
Bade County's goal is to develop incentives and
proceduresto encourage private-sectorredevelopment
of brownfields throughout the county. The county
will use the Poinciana Industrial Center as an example
upon which to build a comprehensive brownfields
plan. The brownfields redevelopment process will
address legal, financial, technical, and community
involvement issues. Bade County believes the area
has a strong history of community involvement but
that redevelopment has been slow, in part, due to
perceptions of site contamination.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Beveloping a comprehensive process for
identification, inventory, assessment, cleanup
planning, and reuse of brownfields;
• Creating a database of potential brownfields sites;
• Beveloping and implementing a community
involvement plan; and
• Completing the Poinciana Industrial Center site
assessments and developing remediation plans.
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 Dade County, Florida
April 1997 EPA 500-F-97-127
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