United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5105)
EPA 500-F-00-222
October 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
oEPA Brownfields Showcase
Community
Milwaukee, Wl
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated
manner. In 1998, this multi-agency partnership designated 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating
the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. In October 2000, the partnership selected 12 additional "Brownfields
Showcase Communities" to continue the success of the initiative. The Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed
across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on
the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a Brownfields Showcase
Community. The city is focusing its brownfields
efforts on mothballed properties in the Menomonee
Valley, located in the heart of the city and adjacent to
the region's largest pockets of unemployment. The
area has been designated a Federal Enterprise
Community. According to 1990 Census data, 39
percent of area residents live below the poverty line
and median income is less than half the state's
average.
The mothballing
Community Profile
issue is a growing
concern for commu-
nity redevelopment,
as cities find key
properties blocked
from reuse. The State
of Wisconsin's new
"cost recovery"
statute adopted in
early 2000 gives the
city bargaining power
in negotiations with owners of mothballed properties
and is expected to remove many of the barriers to
redeveloping these sites. Milwaukee has begun to use
this authority to cleanup and redevelop private sites.
The city is making progress through engaging
community organizations and forming partnerships
with federal, state, and local agencies.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
In 1998, Milwaukee identified 68 vacant or
underutilized parcels located in the Menomonee
Valley that had suspected environmental contamina-
tion. Based on a market analysis, approximately 200
acres were identified as
priority areas. The city is
targeting six properties
located in these areas. In
recent years, Milwaukee
has undertaken the
following activities
throughout the city:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The City of Milwaukee is targeting the
cleanup and redevelopment of
"mothballed" brownfields. Mothballed
properties are privately owned and
deliberately idled due to environmental
concerns. Wisconsin's innovative "cost
recovery" statute, adopted in early 2000;
gives the city new bargaining power in
negotiations with owners of these
properties and is being looked to as a
potential model for other communities.
• Helped to fund
environmental testing
and/or cleanups as part
of the successful
redevelopment of 44 projects. These efforts led
to a variety of new uses that created or retained
1,604 jobs and leveraged more than $199 million
-------
in private investment. Forty of these projects
are private developments.
• Completed Phase I and Phase II environmental
assessments on 13 properties in the Menomonee
Valley.
• Developed a "public conversations" process to
obtain input from local health groups,
environmental organizations, neighborhood
associations, business groups, property owners,
and developers on the city's brownfields
cleanup and redevelopment activities.
Milwaukee has formed partnerships with federal,
state, and local entities to address brownfields
issues. Partnerships include:
• EPA, which awarded Milwaukee a Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot with a
supplemental award, a Job Training Pilot, an
Alternative Dispute Resolution Pilot, and a
Sustainable Development Challenge Grant;
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, which designated Milwaukee as a
Federal Enterprise Community;
State agencies, including the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources and the
Wisconsin Department of Commerce; and
Community groups, including the 16th Street
Community Health Center, Valley Park Civic
Association, and Merrill Park Neighborhood
Association.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Milwaukee plans to use the Showcase Community
project to conduct site investigations on prioritized
mothballed properties once the city obtains an access
agreement. Using the state's new cost recovery law,
the city will continue efforts to take ownership of
private properties for brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment. Milwaukee is also developing an
area-wide approach to groundwater management in
the Menomonee Valley that will complement the
city's brownfields strategy.
Milwaukee's innovative approach to addressing
mothballed properties will serve as a national model
for other cities facing the challenges of bringing these
properties into productive reuse.
Contacts
Milwaukee Economic Development
Corporation
(414)286-5851
U.S. EPA-Region 5
(312)353-0123
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase
Communities, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/showcase.htm.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
EPA 500-F-00-222
------- |