United States
                  Environmental
                  Protection Agency
                  Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5101)
      EPA 500-F-98-217
      July 1998
                                                  Assessment
                   Demonstration  Pilot
                                           State  of New Mexico
                                 Environment Department
  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 New Mexico Environment
Department (NMED)  for a Brownfields Pilot.
Statewide, the poverty rate is the highest in the nation
at 24%; the minority population is the second highest
at nearly 50%; and the unemployment rate is 6.1%.
Two New  Mexico  communities  are Federally
designated Enterprise Communities. Given this socio-
economic reality, most brownfields will be located in
or near economically disadvantaged communities.

Many communities in New Mexico have experienced
economic activity that has left behind a variety of
brownfields sites, including abandoned mining and
milling sites, former oil and gas production sites,
manufacturing sites, and service-oriented businesses
such as dry cleaners and automotive repair centers.
The actual number of brownfields in New Mexico is
unknown, but many have been discovered through
Federal and State site assessments and enforcement
activities. A community-by-community inventory is
needed to understand the magnitude of the State's
brownfields issues. Given the rural nature of the
State, many communities do not have the resources to
apply for and administer a Brownfields Pilot project.
The NMED Pilot will assist these  interested, but
resource-constrained, communities.
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
  State of New Mexico
 Environment Department
Date of Announcement:
July 1998

Amount: $200,000

Profile: The Pilot will conduct
community brownfields
inventories, identify priority
sites, conduct environmental
assessments at selected sites,
and conduct outreach activities
to affected communities.
 Contacts:

 State of New Mexico
 Environment Department
 (505)827-2919
  Regional Brownfields Team
  U.S. EPA-Region 6
  (214)665-6736
      Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.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

NMED formed the Partnership for Community
Redevelopment to  assist communities  in their
brownfields redevelopment efforts. NMED plans to
aid communities that want to address environmental
contamination by  assisting  with brownfields
identification, prioritization, and assessment. NMED
believes the cleanup and redevelopment  of these
properties will help communities restore economic
vitality to their area.  To help facilitate these efforts,
the Pilot plans a  number  of activities, including
assessments, planning assistance, and identification
of other funding sources for cleanup and redevelopment
efforts.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Assisting communities in inventorying and prioritizing
  potential brownfields sites;

• Identifying stakeholders and community participants
  and facilitating their input on site  identification,
  selection, cleanup, and redevelopment;  and

• Performing Phase I and II assessments at selected
  sites to identify real and perceived risks.

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 New Mexico Environment Department
July 1998                                                                            EPA 500-F-98-217

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