&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-155
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Grand Prairie, TX
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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 has selected the City of Grand Prairie for a
Brownfields Pilot. Grand Prairie has a population of
99,606, covers about 75 square miles, and is centrally
located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Widespread
contamination in the northern part of Grand Prairie
has led to increased greenfields development in the
southern part of the city. As more businesses relocate
to the south, the city struggles with loss of business
and blight in the low-income, high-minority population
areas at the city's core. Although the city has
attempted to recruit businesses to redevelop these
potentially contaminated brownfields, the city' s efforts
have been hampered by a lack of information
concerning levels of contamination, environmental
liability issues, and available financing options.
The Pilot targets three areas of the city with strong
redevelopment potential: the Old Town area (or
Northeast Sector), Dalworth, and Shady Grove.
Unemployment ranges from 4.9% to 8.4% in these
target areas, and an average of 13% of the residents
live below the poverty level. The historic Old Town
area has been severely impacted by a number of
recent closings, including the imminent closure of a
naval air station. The area's land uses have included
salvage yards, open storage areas, manufacturing
companies, and various government uses. The
Dalworth community is an historically African-
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Grand Prairie, Texas
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
three areas of Grand
Prairie—Old Town,
Dalworth, and Shady
Grove; environmental
assessments will be
conducted at two to three
sites within these areas.
Contacts:
Environmental Services
Department
City of Grand Prairie
(972) 237-8058
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1 r6/
6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
Forfurtherinformation, 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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American community. Although there have been a
number of community-driven environmental efforts
in the area, there is a significant need to clean up and
redevelop brownfields. Located on the northern
border of the city, the Shady Grove area is a sparsely
populated, historically minority community. Much of
the area's land is marked by sand and gravel pits that
were minedto provide fill materials during the growth
of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. Potential
developers have expressed interest in these three
target areas, but environmental uncertainty has stalled
maj or redevelopment proj ects.
OBJECTIVES
Grand Prairie plans to use the Pilot to develop a
framework for a comprehensive redevelopment
program for the three targeted brownfields. The city
plans to identify, assess, and prioritize contaminated
properties in the target areas, evaluate potential uses
for those properties, and formulate a cleanup and
redevelopment plan.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying, prioritizing, and assessing contamination
on properties in the target areas;
• Evaluating potential redevelopment options for
contaminated properties;
• Integrating brownfields information into ageographic
information system (GIS) database;
• Creating partnerships among community groups,
businesses, financial institutions, and schools to
support cleanup and redevelopment efforts through
forums, mailings, and outreach media; and
• Formulating an overall brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment plan.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Grand Prairie, Texas
May 1998 EPA500-F-98-155
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