United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-156
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Westminster, 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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 City of Westminster for a
Brownfields Pilot. The portion of Westminster
(population 91,814) that encompasses the Brownfields
Pilot target area is called South Westminster
(population 4,244). Most of the city's minority
population lives in this area, where 20 percent of the
residents live below the poverty level. The South
Westminster area was originally open rangeland
inhabited by buffalo and antelope, and was first
homesteaded in 1870.
The Pilot targets the entire South Westminster area,
which is approximately one square mile. The area
comprises 262 separate commercial parcels including
large shopping centers, small, independently owned
retail and service enterprises, manufacturing and
warehouse facilities, junkyards, salvage yards, and
even an abandoned water and sewage treatment
plant. These sites are all mingled together with
residential properties. Some areas contain debris
piles, abandoned drums, and unmarked storage tanks.
The extent of the contamination resulting from these
properties, and how they impact adjacent properties,
is unknown. The Pilot plans to combine its site
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Westminster, Colorado
Contacts:
City of Westminster
Community Development
Department
(303) 430-2400 ex: 2129
Date of Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
262 separate parcels in a
one-square-mile area in
South Westminster.
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303) 312-6931
Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region08/cross/brown/brownf.html
For further information, 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/
-------
assessment information with previous assessment
data to determine the full picture of environmental
contamination.
OBJECTIVES
The city wants to return the historical area of South
Westminster to its former prosperity and restore a
sense of community pride. The area has large
minority and low-income populations, and the city
plans to work with these groups to identify and
encourage entrepreneurial opportunities in the project
area. The city established the Westminster Economic
Development Authority to implement the city's urban
renewal plan, and it has already made significant civic
improvements in the area. Still, the stigma of
contamination in South Westminster continues to
hinder private investment. Through the Pilot, the city
is seeking to remove that barrier to redevelopment
and any potential risks posed by the suspected
contamination.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I site assessments at all parcels
in the target area and combining this information
with the limited pre-existing site assessment data;
• Performing Phase II assessments at targeted sites
as needed;
• Establishing an economic development component
to the project that includes: developing a technical
support network among other brownfields projects
and conducting community and Internet-related
outreach;
• Targeting low-income and minority communities in
the project area for development of entrepreneurial
opportunities; and
• Convening public meetings to formulate historical
preservation plans and community outreach
activities.
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 Westminster, Colorado
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-156
------- |