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/ ------- 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 ------- |