United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-047
May 1997

                       Regional   Brownfields
                      Assessment  Pilot
                                                             Camden, NJ
  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.
  BACKGROUND

  EPA Region 2 selected the City of Camden, New
  Jersey for a Regional Brownfields Pilot. Camden
  (population 87,500) is the fifth largest city in New
  Jersey and is an economically distressed area. It
  has a predominantly minority population, a high
  unemployment rate (3 6 percent), and a one in three
  poverty rate. Manufacturing and related land use
  account for one third of Camden's nine  square
  miles, and brownfields constitute more than half of
  all industrial sites in the City. Abandoned industrial
  sites contain chemicals, transformers, and other
  contaminants that pose significantthreats to human
  health. There is potential contamination of soil and
  groundwater. A lack  of information  about site
  conditions and potential liabilities at abandoned
  facilities have inhibited reinvestment, resulting in
  adecreasedtaxbase, increased blight, and decreased
  community morale and diminished employment
  opportunities.

  OBJECTIVES

  The objective of Camden's brownfields program
  is to develop an effective strategy for assessment,
  cleanup, and reuse of Camden's brownfields. The
  City proposes a comprehensive approach that will
  integrate technical, community, government, and
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Camden, New Jersey
Contacts:

Edward Williams
Office of the Mayor
Camden, N.J.
(609)757-7214
                   Date of Award:
                   September 1996

                   Amount: $200,000

                   Site Profile: The Pilot
                   targets development of
                   two industrial parks and
                   creation of a public non-
                   profit corporation to clean
                   up the sites.
  Larry D'Andrea
  U.S. EPA-Region 2
  (212)637-4314
  dandrea.larry@
  epamail.epa.gov
      Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
      http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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financial  resources to: 1) establish effective
government, private, and community partnerships
for environmental assessmentandplanning; 2) provide
"one-stop  shopping" for community groups  and
developers on site conditions and reuse potential; 3)
coordinate and make readily available preliminary
assessments  and site  investigation reports for
Camden's brownfields; 4) monitor the completion of
all site  assessments; and 5) prioritize  Camden's
brownfields for redevelopment.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot is:

• Completing an inventory of its brownfields using a
 GIS system;

• Establishing partnerships  with local,  State,  and
 Federal agencies;

• Developing a Brownfields Advisory Committee;

• Considering site reuse  options; and

• Developing community participation strategies and
 fostering coordination among  the community,
 developers, the State, and other interested parties.
 Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot                                              Camden, New Jersey
 May 1997                                                                      EPA 500-F-97-047

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