United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-00-005 April 2000 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ <&EPA BrownfieldsSupplemental Assistance Cape Charles/Northampton County, VA 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 Cape Charles/Northampton County supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Cape Charles is located at the southern tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore on a narrow strip of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area boasts rich farmlands, productive waters, vast wetlands, and miles of unspoiled coastline. However, 27 percent of the 13,000 people in the area live below the poverty line. Forty-seven percent of the population is of African-American heritage. The President's Council on Sustainable Development selected Cape Charles as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park demonstration project, the Cape Charles Sustainable Technology Park. The Sustainable Technology Park, recognized as the nation's first eco-industrial park and located in a federal Enterprise Community, is designed to demonstrate advanced facilities in resource efficiency and pollution prevention. A 155-acre portion of this eco-industrial park is aredevelopment area surrounding Cape Charles Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. The site includes a former municipal dump, dockside, railyard, and the remains of abandoned industrial PILOT SNAPSHOT Cape Charles/ Northampton County, VA Date of Announcement: March 2000 Amount: $100,000 Profile: The Pilotwilltarget key brownfields sites in Cape Charles and throughout Northampton County for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment as part of the Sustainable Technology Park network. Contacts: Joint Industrial Develop me nt Autho rity (757)331-1998 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 3 (215)814-3129 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/ ------- operations. Through assessments conducted under the original Assessment Pilot and through leveraged cleanup and redevelopment efforts from the public and private sectors, the first phase of the park is operating. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES Cape Charles and Northampton County plan to continue efforts to return brownfields sites to productive use in Cape Charles and throughout the county. They will use the supplemental assistance Pilot for continued assessment and follow-up activities to support the cleanup and redevelopment of key brownfields sites at the center of the eco-industrial park, as well as to identify and assess additional sites in the Town of Exmore and throughout Northampton County for inclusion in the Sustainable Technology Park network. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to: • Investigate prospective brownfields sites for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment in Exmore and other communities within Northampton County; • Perform Phase I and, as needed, Phase II environmental assessments on targeted sites; • Prepare feasibility studies that will address appropriate cleanup technologies and cost estimates for assessed sites; • Prepare redevelopment plans for the targeted properties; and • Involve the affected communities through community meetings and workshops in conjunction with assessment and cleanup and redevelopment planning. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this factsheetare subjectto change. Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Cape Charles/Northampton County, VA April 2000 EPA 500-F-00-005 ------- |