United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-181
July 1998
vxEPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Middlesex 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 Middlesex County for a Brownfields
Pilot. The County is located in central New Jersey,
and comprises 25 urban, suburban, and small-town
municipalities. Historically, the region has been a
center for industry and commerce due to its close
proximity to maj or East Coast markets and waterways.
However, Middlesex County has seen a significant
decline in economic activity in the last 30 years,
particularly in the metal processing and petro-
chemical industries. The closing of these industries
has left behind numerous vacant and potentially
contaminated properties, as well as contaminated
sediment along stretches of the Arthur Kill waterway,
Raritan Bay, and Raritan River.
The Middlesex County Planning Board determined
in 1995 that the abandoned and underused properties
along these waterways had significant redevelopment
potential, yet were hampered by perceived
contamination. The County plans to focus Pilot
activities on the seven municipalities that lie along
these waterways. The impact of brownfields on
these communities is dramatic. More than 50% (397
out of 775) of all known contaminated sites in the
County are in the seven municipalities targeted for
this Pilot. Planned redevelopment efforts include
commercial, light industrial, and a mixture of
residential and/or recreational development.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Middlesex County,
New Jersey
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: Middlesex
County is focusing its
redevelopment efforts on
seven municipalities along
the Arthur Kill waterway,
Raritan Bay, and Raritan
River.
Contacts:
Middlesex County
ImprovementAuthority
(609) 655-1408
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields websiteat:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/bfrnainpg.htm
Forfurther 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 Middlesex County Improvement Authority
initiated a Waterfront Reclamation Project (WRP) to
address brownfields issues in the targeted
communities. The primary objectives of WRP are to
clean up hazardous sites, redevelop underused
properties, create jobs and economic opportunities in
the area, increase tax revenues, and create increased
public access to the waterfront. To help facilitate this
project, the Pilot plans to identify, assess, and
inventory brownfields sites; create a cleanup and
redevelopment plan for WRP use; and foster
community involvement through outreach and
communication activities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying, inventorying, and prioritizing potential
sites for cleanup and redevelopment;
• Conducting environmental assessments on at least
three to five sites with the highest potential for
redevelopment, and developing appropriate cleanup
plans for those sites, including the use of innovative
cleanup technologies;
• Integrating the assessment results into an overall
waterfront redevelopment program; and
• Conducting community outreach activities and re-
convening a task force comprising representatives
of the seven municipalities to serve as an advisory
body.
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 Middlesex County, New Jersey
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-181
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