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Targeted Brownfields
Assessments
EPA's Brownfields Program 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 property, the expansion, redevelopment, or
reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA's Brownfields Program provides financial and technical
assistance for brownfields revitalization, including grants for environmental assessment, cleanup,
and job training.
WHAT is A TARGETED BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT?
EPA's Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TEA)
program is designed to help states, tribes, and
municipalities—especially those without EPA
Brownfields Assessment pilots/grants—minimize the
uncertainties of contamination often associated with
brownfields. Targeted Brownfields Assessments
supplement and work with other efforts under EPA's
Brownfields Program to promote cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields.
Under the TEA program, EPA provides funding and/or
technical assistance for environmental assessments at
brownfields sites throughout the country. Under the
Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act, EPA's TEA assistance is available
through two sources: directly from EPA through EPA
Regional Brownfields offices under Subtitle A of the
law, and from state or tribal voluntary response
program offices receiving funding under Subtitle C of
the law. A TEA may encompass one or more of the
following activities:
• A screening or "all appropriate inquiry" (Phase I)
assessment, including a background and historical
investigation and a preliminary site inspection;
• A full (Phase II) environmental assessment,
including sampling activities to identify the types
and concentrations of contaminants and the areas
of contamination to be cleaned; and
• Establishment of cleanup options and cost
estimates based on future uses and redevelopment
plans.
Targeted Brownfields Assessment funding may only be
used at properties eligible for EPA Brownfields funding.
The property must be "a real property, the expansion,
redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated
by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The Brownfields
Law offered amendments that made additional
properties eligible for TEA funding, including mine-
scarred land; properties contaminated by a controlled
substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)); and petroleum-
contaminated properties of relatively low risk.
EPA generally will not fund TBAs at properties where
the owner is responsible for the contamination unless
there is a clear means of recouping EPA expenditures.
Further, the TEA program does not provide resources
to conduct cleanup or building demolition activities.
Cleanup assistance is available, however, under EPA's
cleanup or RLF grants.
TARGETED BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT ASSISTANCE
EPA may use TEA funds for federally-led environmental
assessment activities or for environmental assessments
conducted by states or tribes under Subtitle C
cooperative agreements with EPA. When EPA takes the
lead for a TEA, it works in consultation with the state
or tribe. Whether the environmental assessment is
EPA-, state-, or tribal-led, early and meaningful
opportunities for community involvement are generally
part of a TEA.
Under Subtitle A of the Brownfields Law, TEA
assistance is allocated by each of EPA's ten Regional
offices. The Regions have discretion in selecting areas
to target for environmental assessment assistance and
typically prefer to target properties that: are abandoned
or publicly owned; have low to moderate
contamination; include issues of environmental justice;
suffer from the stigma of liability; or have a prospective
purchaser willing to buy and pay for the cleanup of the
property, if needed. The selection process is guided by
criteria used to help establish relative priorities among
the properties within a Region. The criteria include the
following:
• Property control and ownership transfer is not an
impediment—preference will be given to sites
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which are publicly owned, either directly by a
municipality or through a quasi-public entity such
as a community development corporation. If a
property is privately owned, there generally must be
a clear means of recouping EPA expenditures.
• There is a strong municipal commitment—either
financially, or through commitment of municipal
resources for other components of the project.
• There is a clear municipal/community vision and
support for property revitalization.
• There are adequate leveraged funds available for
cleanup and redevelopment, and/or the property has
strong development potential (perhaps demonstrated
by past or present developer interest).
• EPA assessment assistance is crucial to the
property's redevelopment; lack of an assessment
has proven to be an obstacle at the property.
• Existing information supports redevelopment—the
property will likely have low to moderate
contamination levels, and redevelopment will
provide tangible benefits for the community.
• The project area has a clear need for revitalization
evidenced by significant deterioration and/or
significant environmental justice issues.
• There is clear coordination between the EPA Region
and the state or tribe.
• The TEA is consistent with other EPA/federal
agency initiatives—the property has an important
link to other EPA/state or EPA/tribal initiatives; a
direct health/environmental threat will be mitigated
or property revitalization will serve to spur further
beneficial activity in the surrounding area.
Under Subtitle C of the Brownfields Law, TEA
assistance can also be allocated by each state and tribe
receiving Subtitle C funding. The selection criteria and
amount of assistance available varies with each state
and tribe.
SOME TARGETED BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT
SUCCESSES
Old Town, Maine—As a result of EPA's TEA program,
four acres of formerly contaminated property on the
banks of the Penobscot River in Old Town, Maine is
now a recreational area with a playground and paths for
running and biking. The property's building had been
used as a warehouse until the city foreclosed on the
property for unpaid taxes. For 17 years the property
stood abandoned, as fears regarding suspected
contamination and responsibility for expensive cleanup
kept potential purchasers at bay.
Old Town contacted EPA seeking assistance with the
property, and EPA determined the extent of the
property's contamination under its TEA program.
Following a $20,000 assessment, the property's
abandoned structures were demolished and the
contamination cleaned up. While the city funded this
extensive cleanup, EPA pursued the former owners for
reimbursement of cleanup costs.
Honolulu, Hawaii—In Honolulu's Kaka'ako district,
waterfront property that has long been home to fish
canneries, ship yards, city industrial yards, and office
buildings is being transformed into such varied
enterprises as a children's museum, parks, and several
private commercial and retail projects. EPA provided a
critical piece of this redevelopment puzzle by awarding
$90,000 in TEA funding to the Hawaii Department of
Health. The Department of Health retained oversight
authority for both assessment and subsequent cleanup,
but worked closely with the Hawaii Community
Development Authority (HCDA), which was working
to redevelop this area. The eventual redevelopment of
the Kaka'ako district will create new jobs for
surrounding communities and increased tax revenues
for the city.
Smithville, Texas—Due in large part to the cooperation
of two federal agencies, a former metal fabrication
plant in Smithville, Texas is now home to a furniture
manufacturing company. In 1990 the previous owner
filed for bankruptcy on this contaminated, three-acre
property. Due to its prime location as a possible
industrial district, the city marshaled its resources to
clean up and redevelop the property. In addition to
environmental assessment work, EPA assisted
Smithville in acquiring aid from the U.S. Department of
Commerce and its technical assistance program. The
city completed property cleanup and the property was
ready for reuse by the furniture manufacturer.
How CAN You APPLY FOR TARGETED BROWNFIELDS
ASSESSMENT ASISTANCE?
TBAs supplement other efforts under EPA's
Brownfields Program to promote cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields.
The TEA selection process varies with each EPA
Region and by state Voluntary Response Programs.
Each Region is given an annual budget to spend on
TBAs. State Voluntary Response Programs allocate
TEA funding on a case-by-case basis. If you are
interested in receiving TEA assistance, please contact
the EPA Brownfields staff in your Region or staff in
your state or tribal Voluntary Response Program. You
can obtain current contact information under the "Tools
and Contacts" section of EPA's Brownfields web site,
at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/. You can also call
EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and
Redevelopment at (202) 566-2777.
Fact
Waste
and Emergency
(5105)
ERA 500-F-03-015
WWW.
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