United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-00-267
December 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Laredo, TX
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
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
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
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 selected the City of Laredo for a Brownfields
Pilot. Laredo is the hub of international freight
movement between the United States and the Republic
of Mexico. The area's predominantly Hispanic
population is ranked among the poorest in the nation.
The city's industries and land uses remained virtually
unregulated until the 1980s, resulting in many
environmental abuses that the city has had limited
knowledge of and scant resources to effectively
address.
The city's Pilot work plan originally planned to help
investigate, cleanup, and redevelop the Paso del Indio,
a 100-acre city-owned property that lies between
downtown Laredo and the Rio Grande River. In
February 1996, the city, with the assistance of EPA
Region 6 and the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission, investigated the Paso del
Indio property. This investigation indicated that the
property was not contaminated. Based on this finding,
the city has refocused the Pilot efforts to inventory
and assess potential brownfields sites, with special
emphasis on sites along the riverfront.
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
September 1995
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
properties within the City of
Laredo, with special em phasis
on waterfront sites.
Laredo, Texas
Contacts:
City of Laredo
(210)791-7441
U.S. EPA - Region 6
(214)665-6780
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/
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OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Pilot are to help create a green
corridor between the U.S. - Mexican border on the
Rio Grande and facilitate commercial development.
The reuse of selected brownfields is expected to spur
economic redevelopment on the riverfront and increase
interest in environmental cleanup, crime prevention,
and improvement of the Rio Grande's water quality.
The involvement and active participation of area
stakeholders, including financial institutions, downtown
businesses, hospitality and tourism operations, adjacent
residential neighborhoods, the railroads, U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Customs
Service, International Boundary and Water
Commissions, and the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission, will be key to
accomplishing these objectives.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Completed an inventory of 13 properties and targeted
10 of these.
The Pilot is:
• Conducting outreach to current property owners,
realtors, prospective buyers, and lending institutions
to educate them about the city's brownfields effort,
with the objective of expediting environmental
revitalization;
• Conducting further public meetings to disseminate
information and gain public input for the brownfields
process;
• Developing a Pilot-wide comprehensive plan for
adaptive reuse, emphasizing employment, long-term
environmental education, and environmental justice
to moderate- and low-income residents; and
• Planning site history documentation, cleanup plan
development, and categorical listings of potential
uses and users for the Los Altos del Rio site.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the Laredo Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities, including the following:
• EPA and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
Commission support the city's program by conducting
sampling and analysis activities.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
December 2000
Laredo, Texas
EPA 500-F-00-267
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