United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-160
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Waco, AZ
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. 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 brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
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 has selected the Naco Fire District for a
Brownfields Pilot. Naco (population 748) is a rural,
unincorporated town in Cochise County. The town is
80 percent Hispanic with a 28 percent unemployment
rate. Naco, Arizona is directly across the border from
Naco, Sonora-Mexico, and the two cities have worked
together on regional issues over the years and are
recognized as a model for cross-border cooperation.
The Pilot targets 260 acres directly across the border
from Naco, Sonora-Mexico. From the 1930s until the
1980s, the area was a maj or agribusiness route for the
processing and shipping of cattle between Mexico
and the United States. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture required that all cattle coming into the
United States be treated with pesticides, such as
DDT, chlordane, and heptachlor. Thus the site
contains former cattle dip vats contaminated with
pesticides, as well as a large number of dead animals,
trash, and other buried waste. In addition, as the
Mexican city of Naco grew, its waste treatment plant
did not, and became overburdened and unable to
handle the high volume of raw sewage and industrial
waste water. Frequent breakdowns resulted in
overflows of the system, which poured sewage over
the border onto the U.S. crossing site. Since the
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Naco, Arizonia
Contacts:
Naco Fire District
(520) 432-7040
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
260 acres along the U.S.
border with Mexico, formerly
used as a major agribusiness
cattle crossing facility.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 9
(415)744-2237
Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html
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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border crossing closed in the late 1980s, these spills
have become the main source of pollution in Naco,
Arizona. The exact nature and extent of the
contamination from the dip vats and the waste
treatment plant at the brownfields site is unknown.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot seeks to facilitate cleanup of the targeted
areas so that potential risks are removed and the
properties can be transformed into productive use.
Through cooperation from the communities, cities,
counties, and emergency response teams on both
sides of the border, Naco, Sonora has received
funding to build a new treatment plant scheduled for
completion in late 1999. Eliminating the threat of
flooding opens up the U. S. border-crossing brownfields
site to redevelopment opportunities. Local
stakeholders, such as county authorities, community
members, non-governmental organizations, and citizen
groups have identified the environmental assessment
of the site as the first step in the area's overall
redevelopment process. Initial redevelopment plans
include retail shops and restaurants incorporated in at
least one shopping center, and light industrial facilities.
The Pilot will initiate the revitalization efforts by
assessing the environmental contamination from the
site's former cattle pens and agribusiness activity.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I and II assessments at the 260-
acre site on the U.S. side of the border;
• Creating a cleanup and redevelopment plan for the
area; and
• Conducting community involvement activities.
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 Naco, Arizona
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-160
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