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/ ------- 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 ------- |