&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-161
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Las Vegas, NV
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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 has selected the City of Las Vegas for a
Brownfields Pilot. 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,"thedowntownareabecame
less attractive to developers. Many of the properties
used to service the downtown area, such as
warehouses, distributors, and equipment yards,
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 disadvantaged citizens. Las Vegas (population
29,911) is 56% minority, and more than 30% of its
population lives below the poverty level. The Pilot
area sits almost entirely within the City Redevelopment
Area, and approximately 70% of the study area is
within a federal Enterprise Community. Many of the
most desirable parcels have been acquired, leaving
environmentally impaired, underdeveloped parcels in
a blighted condition.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Las Vegas, Nevada
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
four areas in downtown
Las Vegas that are almost
entirely within the City
Redevelopment Area and
a federal Enterprise
Community.
Contacts:
Office of Business
Development
City of Las Vegas
(702) 229-6551
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/
Forfurtherinformation, 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/
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OBJECTIVES
The city's redevelopment objective is to realize the
highest and best use of all parcels within the
redevelopment area. Parcels that have been vacant
and underdeveloped as a result of contamination or
because they are near environmentally impaired sites
will be the first priority. The obj ectives of the Pilot are
to inform the general public and interested parties
about the city's brownfields plans and to conduct the
site assessment, testing, and evaluation necessary to
carry out cleanup and redevelopment plans.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting environmental assessments at selected
sites based upon current and historical land use
information;
• Preparing an inventory of contaminated and
potentially contaminated sites;
• Preparing risk-based corrective action plans for
selected sites; and
• Establishing an outreach program for disadvantaged
communities in the Pilot area.
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 Las Vegas, Nevada
May 1998 EPA 500-F-98-161
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