&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-180
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Morris County, 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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 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 Morris County for a Brownfields
Pilot. The Pilot includes 13 small municipalities
(average population 15,714) that lie along a 40-mile
corridor adjacent to the Rockaway River in northern
New Jersey. The region has been an industrial center
since the Revolutionary War, with mining and forging
operations based on local iron deposits. Many of
these industrial sites were abandoned and
subsequently used for auto repair and salvage
operations. The legacy of the area's industrial past
has left brownfields scattered throughout the corridor
where multiple industries have released unknown
amounts of contaminants. The water quality of the
Rockaway River and its associated aquifers, on
which nearly one million people depend for drinking
water, has been jeopardized by this contamination.
The communities located near brownfields are
characterized by elevated unemployment and poverty
rates and impaired property values. Tradition and
"home rule" by local towns has prevented regional
cooperation in brownfields assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment in the past.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Moms County, New Jersey
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields located in 13
municipalities that liealong
a 40-mile corridor adjacent
to the Rockaway River in
northern New Jersey.
Contacts:
Municipal Utilities
Authority
Morris County
(973) 285-8383
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfund/brownfld/
bfmainpg.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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OBJECTIVES
Morris County's objectives are to return urban
brownfields to commercial reuse consistent with
community interests; relocate or modify existing
riverside development to enhance water quality and
create recreational uses; and create employment
opportunities and strengthen the tax base in depressed
municipalities. AmajorgoalofthePilotistoovercome
the jurisdictional obstacles present when dealing with
13 separate towns with home rule. Pilot funding will
be used to identify, characterize, and prioritize
brownfields in the corridor. The Pilotplansto initiate
and maintain community involvement activities with
residents in brownfields communities. Finally, the
Pilotplansto leverage assessmentand cleanup funding
from sources such as the New Jersey Hazardous
Discharge Site Remediation Fund.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying and characterizing brownfields in Morris
County and collecting site-specific information, to
be compiled in a database with appropriate links to
a regional geographic information system;
• Performing environmental assessments on a
minimum of 9 sites based on evaluation and
prioritization of sites in the County;
• Developing specific cleanup and redevelopment
plans for these 9 sites;
• Conducting community outreach activities in the 13
target communities; and
• Developing a strategy to coordinate cleanup and
reuse activities with 13 separate municipalities.
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 Morris County, New Jersey
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-180
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