United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-159
October 1997
Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Des Moines, IA
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 120 National and Regional
Brownfields Assessment 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 Region 7 has selectedthe City of Des Moines for
a Regional Brownfields Pilot. Des Moines is a
financial, agribusiness, and retail trade center in the
Midwest. In 1996, the unexpected closure of a beef
processing plant in the City's central core resulted in
approximately 1,300 lay-offs and widespread nega-
tive economic impact. The plant closure focused the
community's attention on the environmental con-
tamination that may be associated with chemical
plants, salvage operations, and agribusinesses. The
City has estimatedthatithas 50 brownfields, ranging
in size from less than one acre to more than five acres.
Private property owners have been hesitant to inves-
tigate these brownfields because of potential liability
and cleanup expenses.
The City and its partners are responding to these
challenges in a variety of ways, including the planning
of the Des Moines Agribusiness Park, which is the
target of this Pilot. This 1,200-acre tract of
industrialized land has a history of environmental
contamination. Suspected contaminants include lead,
chromium, volatile organic compounds, and PCBs.
Many of the parcels within this area may be considered
brownfields. The City recognizes that successful
redevelopment of this area is not possible until the
known or perceived environmental contamination is
addressed.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Des Moines, Iowa
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $100,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets a 1,200-acre tract
of industrialized land in
the eastern part of Des
Moines for redevelopment
into the "Des Moines
Agribusiness Park."
Contacts:
Ellen Walkowiak
City of Des Moines
(515)237-1351
Susan Klein
U.S. EPA-Region 7
(913)551-7786
klein.susan@epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfieids
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot seeks to redevelop the under-used indus-
trial sites within the Des Moines Agribusiness Park
that are or have been threatened by environmental
contamination. The area is well supported by easy
highway access and current infrastructure sufficient
to support the planned uses. Existing businesses in
the Park currently employ about 300 people. It is
anticipated that a majority of the workers for the new
facilities will come from the local Hispanic and Asian
populations. Many of these workers were laid off as
a result of the beef processing plant closure in 1996.
The Pilot has identified several specific objectives to
ensure successful attainment of this goal, including:
removing real or perceived barriers to redevelop-
ment, especially those related to the environmental
condition of the properties; securing new business
investment in the Park; creating livable wage em-
ployment opportunities for Des Moines residents,
especially those laid off by the beef processing plant;
certifying the area under the State's Agribusiness
Enterprise Zone; developing a quality assurance
management plan; exploring liability issues with the
State; and exploring implementation of a pollution
prevention plan to prevent the creation of future
brownfields.
AND
The Pilot will:
* Complete a land development assessment to
determine the opportunities and challenges for
redeveloping the Park, that will include research on
land use, zoning, property ownership, infrastructure,
and flood plain status;
* Conduct Phase 1 environmental assessments of all
lands in the Park to identify specific brownfields
sites;
* Conduct Phase II environmental assessments on a
minimum of five sites in the Park that appearto pose
the greatest threat of contamination and would be
the most readily developed;
Secure public involvement in all aspects of the
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the Park.
including holding public meetings to discuss
potential cleanup plans, creating communications
products to keep the public informed about the
project, and developing an Internet home page;
Develop cleanup budgets and implementation plans,
including site prioritization, cleanup strategies, land
use, ownership transfer, and innovative financing;
and
Develop and adopt an urban rcvitalization plan and
tax increment financing district which includes the
Park.
Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
October 1997
Des Moines, Iowa
EPA 500-F-97-159
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