United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-314 April 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Washington, DC 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 worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance 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 Washington, DC, to receive supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The District's economy is confined by its small geographic area, increased competition from neighboring jurisdictions, and a restricted tax base (the Federal government owns 41 percent of the land). The District believes that reuse of vacant and available land is essential to revitalizing the area's economy. The District City Council passed the Brownfields Revitalization Amendment Act on December 5, 2000. The Act establishes a regulatory and enforcement program as well as a voluntary cleanup program and tax and financial incentives. The District is developing regulations to implement the Act. Supplemental funds will assist the District in its efforts to remove the uncertainty associated with the redevelopment of potentially contaminated sites. PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Award: April 2001 Amount: $100,000 Profile:The Pilot willtarget 2-3 commercially valuable properties. Washington, DC Contacts: Washington DC Department of Health (202)442-9237 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA - Region 3 (215)814-2780 Visit the EPA Region 3 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/brownfld/hmpage1.htm 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/ ------- OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The supplemental funding will be used to identify, evaluate, prioritize, and assess brownfields. Assessments will be conducted at 2 - 3 sites identified as high-priority for redevelopment. The supplemental funding also will be used to conduct forums that will involve residents of areas surrounding sites targeted for assessment. Pilot activities will support the continued development of a comprehensive site assessment program for the District of Columbia. The Pilot plans to: • Continue to identify brownfields; • Determine the redevelopment potential of sites in order to set site assessment priorities; • Conduct community forums in areas surrounding priority sites to involve the community in redevelopmentplanning; and • Conduct site assessments at 2-3 properties. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this tact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Washington, DC April 2001 EPA 500-F-01-314 ------- |