United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-027
April 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Las Vegas, NV
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
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 brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
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 awarded the City of Las Vegas supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Pilot and
additional funding for assessments at brownfields
properties to be used for greenspace purposes. The
city has targeted four areas in downtown Las Vegas
containing a large number of blighted sites. These
areas contain the earliest land uses in the city limits
and represent a cross section of residential,
commercial, entertainment, manufacturing, hotel, and
specialty uses. When larger properties became
available for development in profitable gaming ventures
along the "Strip," the downtown area became less
attractive to developers. Many of the properties used
to service the downtown area, such as warehouses,
distributors, and equipmentyards, eventually fell into
disrepair and were abandoned for larger sites south of
the city limits.
The brownfields study area is home to most of the
city's disadvantagedcitizens. Las Vegas (population
29,911) is 56 percent minority, and more than 30
percent of its population lives below the poverty level.
The Pilot area sits almost entirely within the City
Redevelopment Area; approximately 70 percent of
the study area is within a federal Enterprise
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Las Vegas, Nevada
Date of Announcement:
March 2000
Amount: $100,000
Greenspace: $50,000
Profile: The Pilot will continue
activitiesintheoriginal Assessment
Pilottargetarea, including outreach
and planning for greenspace
purposes.
Contacts:
RedevelopmentAgency
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702)229-6100
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 9
(415)744-2237
Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
Forfurther information, including specific Pilotcontacts,
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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Community. Many of the most desirable parcels have
been acquired, leaving environmentally impaired,
underdeveloped parcels in a blighted condition.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Las Vegas plans to continue activities begun under
the original Assessment Pilot as the targeted area
continues to experience a slower rate of development
compared to the rest of the city. The Pilot will
continue outreach to stakeholders, including community
groups, and will work with stakeholders to facilitate
cleanup and redevelopment.
The Pilot will use the greenspace funding to address
the lack of open space and greenspace in the targeted
areas. Potential projects include creating a three-
acre park and sports fields under an elevated section
of State Highway 95, an area that is fully encompassed
in the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community, and
establishing other parks inbrownfields communities.
To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:
• Conduct environmental assessments at sites with
potential greenspace reuses;
• Prepare assessment reports and redevelopment
plans; and
• Conduct outreach to communities and other
stakeholders.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Las Vegas, Nevada
April 2000 EPA 500-F-00-027
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