United States
                 Environmental
                 Protection Agency
                 Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
    EPA500-F-98-172
    July 1998
  \vEPA   Brownfields  Assessment
                  Demonstration  Pilot
                  State of Rhode  Island Economic
                              Development Corporation
  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 the State of Rhode Island Economic
Development Corporation for a Brownfields Pilot.
The Pilot is working through the Central Rhode
Island Development Corporation (CRIDCO). The
Central Rhode Island region (population 282,667)
contains the  cities of  Coventry, Cranston, East
Greenwich, Johnston, North Kingstown, Warwick,
and West Warwick. The region was once the heart of
flourishing textile and j ewelry industries. The decline
of these industries and defense industry cutbacks
have left the region economically depressed. The
region's unemployment rate has increased to almost
8%. High poverty rates qualify some neighborhoods
for State-designated Enterprise Development Zones.
The State has compiled a list of 122 known
brownfields that  blight the region and prevent
redevelopment.  Many of these sites  have been
abandoned by their owners.

OBJECTIVES

CRIDCO is dedicated to helping the region rebuild
the manufacturing base of its economy.  CRIDCO
plans to use the Pilot to  help establish a process for
leveraging private sector investment in brownfields
cleanup and  redevelopment.   In the  long term,
CRIDCO has  four objectives for its brownfields
PILOT SNAPSHOT
 State of Rhode Island
Economic Development
    Corporation
 Date of Announcement:
 July 1998

 Amount: $200,000

 Profile: The Pilot will
 conduct environmental
 assessments at one or twc
 sites in Central Rhode
 Island to be selected
 through a community
 participation process.
Contacts:

Central Rhode Island
Development Corporation
(401)732-7003
Regional Brownfields Team
EPA - Region 1
(617)573-9681
     Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
     http://www.epa.gov/region01 /remed/bmfld

   For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
 additional Pilot information, browrrfields news and events, and
 publications and links, visit the EPA Browrrfields web site at:
       http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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program:  stopping the deterioration of brownfields
before they become direct human health threats;
demonstrating a successful methodology for cleaning
up brownfields; restoring one or more community-
targeted sites to environmentally sound conditions;
and bringing the sites to economically productive
status with environmentally sound businesses. To
help achieve these objectives, the Pilot will play a
role in CRIDCO's 10-step brownfields revitalization
process that includes: prioritizing brownfields based
on  a community-driven process;  conducting
environmental site assessments; and  developing
cleanup and reuse plans.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Using a community-based process to identify
 and prioritize sites;

• Conducting Phase I and II assessments at
 one or two selected sites; and

• Developing cleanup plans, including estimating
       cleanup costs.


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                  State of Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation
July 1998                                                                           EPA 500-F-98-172

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