United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-99-020
March 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
PA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Tampa, FL
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 200 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 Tampa for a Brownfields
Pilot. Tampa, the economic center of Florida's west
central coast, is the state's third most populous city
(population 280,015). The Pilot will target
approximately one square mile on the lower east side
of downtown Tampa. Much of this Brownfields
Target Area (BTA) is located in afederally-designated
Enterprise Community, where the minority population
is 70 percent and the poverty rate is 50 percent. This
area historically was home to industrial and seaport
activities, including ship repair and distribution of
fruit and tobacco.
Over the past 20 years, there has been an exodus of
businesses to more desirable areas outside the urban
core of the city. The BTA is characterized by large,
vacant and/or derelict buildings, many of them on
properties burdened with the stigma of environmental
contamination.
OBJECTIVES
Tampa's objective is to promote the redevelopment
of distressed and vacant properties located in the
BTA. Tampa plans to accomplish this objective by
completing site assessments, maximizing community
participation, developing cleanup strategies, and
developing a detailed inventory of brownfields
properties in the BTA. The city, local community
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Tampa, Florida
Date of Announcement:
March 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
distressed and vacant
properties located in an
approximately one square mile
area on the lower east side of
downtown Tampa. A portion of
this Brownfields Target Area is
located in a federally-
designated Enterprise
Community.
Contacts:
Environmental Services and
Public Works Coordination
City of Tampa
(813)274-8771
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404) 562-8661
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.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/
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groups, local businesses, regional planners and other
stakeholders share asingle focusedplan forthe BTA:
to encourage environmental justice through the
completion of site assessments while providing a
cooperative and redevelopment-friendly atmosphere
to attract investment and create job opportunities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental site
assessments on properties in the BTA;
• Developing a geographic information system (GIS)
to inventory environmental and land use data on
potential brownfields sites that will enable the city
to prioritize site assessments; and
• Creating a brownfields outreach program to
encourage affected community stakeholders to
become involved in Pilot 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 Tampa, Florida
March 1999 EPA 500-F-99-020
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