United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
                         Solid Waste
                         and Emergency
                         Response (5101)
  EPA500-F-97-161
  September 1997
  SERA
Regional  Brownfields
Assessment  Pilot
                      North  Stapleton,  CO
  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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. 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 8 has selected the Cities of Denver and
Commerce City for a Regional Brownfields Pilot.
The Pilot targets approximately 2,500 acres of the
former Stapleton International Airport (SIA), as well
as 640 acres currently part of the Rocky Mountain
Arsenal to be purchased by Commerce City pursuant
to Federal legislation.   A groundwater plume.
contaminated by chlorinated solvents, originates from
the Montbello Industrial Park and passes through the
property; the source of the plume is not related to SIA.

Northeast Denver is now experiencing a dramatic
transformation as several contaminated properties in
the general vicinity of SIA are being cleaned up and
converted to productive use. Three significantpublic
sites, including  SIA, are all undergoing historical
changes, as they close and are redeveloped.  In
addition, the Sand Creek Brownfields Pilot borders
this Pilot's targeted property. Through these efforts,
the  area has demonstrated its commitment to
community  involvement   in  planning  for
redevelopment.

The Pilot project will affect about 58,000 Denver
area residents—all of Commerce City and several
northeast Denver neighborhoods (North Park Hill,
Northeast Park Hill, Montbello, and East Monclair).
The 1990 unemployment rates in these neighborhoods
                         PILOT SNAPSHOT
                        North Stapleton, Colorado
   Date of Award:
   August 1997

   Amount: $200,000

   Site Profile: The Pilot
   targets approximately
   2,500 acres of the former
   Stapleton International
   Airport as well as 640
   acres currently part of the
   Rocky Mountain Arsenal
   to be purchased by
   Commerce City.
                        Contacts:

                        Myles Carter
                        City and County of
                        Denver
                        Department of Aviation
                        (303) 342-2200
                        (ext. 2628)
Beth Conover
Stapleton Development
Corporation
(303) 295-7900

Pat Smith
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303)312-6803
smith.patricia@epamail.epa.gov
                               Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
                               http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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range from 8.52 to 15.6 percent, with 1989 poverty
rates  ranging  from 13.2 to 28.2 percent.  These
neighborhoods have minority populations from 44 to
96 percent, as compared to the 35 percent minority
population average for the City of Denver. For many
years, these  residential  communities have been
impacted by the presence of large military facilities,
as well as by extensive industrial development along
the   Denver-Commerce   City    boundary.
Redevelopment of SIA, which is directly adjacent to
these disadvantaged communities, will assist in the
improvement of  their  economic  status and
environmental conditions.

In the past few  years. Denver  has undergone  a
significant shift in its job base. A majority of the new
jobs anticipated from redevelopment efforts related
to this Pilot will be created for local residents. The
Pilot offers an opportunity to enhance the strengths of
the neighborhoods that have grown up around it by-
providing employment and job-train ing opportunities.
extensive parks, trails and open spaces, and a diversity
of housing options.  Hie integration  of jobs and
housing is part of an overall strategy to increase
access to  the  area  and reduce  vehicle miles and
regional air quality impacts.

OBJECTIVES

The Pilot's focus is to facilitate the revitalization and
redevelopment of the northern zone of SIA and the
Commerce City parcel. The Pilot aims to reverse
environmental and economic trends and blighting,
increase  assessed property value  and  private
investment,  increase the  quantity and quality of
employment opportunities, and reclaim potentially
valuable  property  for mixed-use development.
Specific  milestones critical to  achieving this
redevelopment include the identification and review
of baseline conditions  at the sites to  establish the
extent of contamination. The tasks planned through
the Pilot, including site assessment andthe education
of local residents and specific community sectors,
will benefitthe entire area through improved economic
and environmental conditions.
                     AND

The Pilot will:

* Revi ew and evaluate the quality and extent of existing
 sampling and analytical data;

* Conduct a risk assessment to quantify the human
 health and ecological risks  resulting  from  a
 groundwater plume of chlorinated solvents;

* Prepare a corrective measures study to evaluate and
 select appropriate remedial measures if the risk
 assessment  indicates  that the plume presents an
 unacceptable level of human health risk;

* Prepare  informational outreach materials for
 appraisers, lenders, builders, potential buyers, and
 the general public to explain the health and ecological
 risks associated with this property; and

* Develop a strategy to provide regulatory relief, tax
 incentives, and/or creative financing solutions for
 buyers, lenders, and developers.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
  Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot
  September 1997
                          North Stapleton, Colorado
                               EPA 500-F-97-161

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