United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-00-266
December 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
St. Petersburg, FL
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 selected the City of St. Petersburg for a
Brownfields Pilot. The brownfields project is part of
a comprehensive set of commitments made by the
Federal Interagency Task Force to St. Petersburg.
The Task Force was formed by President Clinton in
response to the two civil disturbances that occurred in
the city in the fall of 1996 and includes seven federal
agencies: Department of Labor, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, Department of
Commerce, Department of Education, Department
of Justice, the Small Business Administration, and
EPA. The Task Force worked with local and state
officials to identify federal resources to assist the
affected community in order to address the problems
that precipitated the unrest. The federal agencies will
provide both financial and technical assistance to the
city.
OBJECTIVES
The City of St. Petersburg's objective is to implement
a number of activities to support a demonstration site
proj ect in the federal Enterprise Zone. The Enterprise
Zone overlaps the Business Retention Target Area,
which is west of the city's Central Business District.
The city will work with the Brownfields Working
PILOTSNAPSHOT
St. Petersburg, Florida
Date of Announcement:
April 1997
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields activities in the
state Enterprise Zone and
the Business Retention
TargetArea west of the city's
Central Business District.
Contacts:
City of St. Petersburg
(813)893-7100
U.S. EPA - Region 4
(404)562-9969
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/
-------
Group and its teams (Plan Action, Communication
Strategies, Finance, and Regulatory) to build a
community base of understanding, resources, and
support for the Brownfields Redevelopment Project.
Ultimately, the city anticipates that its revitalization
efforts will create jobs and stimulate economic
development.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Developed a site selection process and a community
participation strategy;
• Completed environmental assessments on 187
properties, with 158 not requiring cleanup; and
• Developed a geographic information system (GIS)
database of brownfields sites in the Pilot area. The
database can query, research, store, and display
property information, including digital photos. It will
be linked with the county property appraiser's
database and will be updated weekly.
The Pilot is:
• Involving the public in the Pilotareain the brownfields
redevelopmentprocess through workshops and other
outreach strategies; and
• Identifying and supporting new funding options for
brownfields redevelopment.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the St. Petersburg Pilot has been a
catalyst for related activities, including the following:
• EPA, the city, and St. Petersburg Junior College
worked together to certify 26 people for hazardous
materials (HAZMAT) and basic hazardous waste
operators (HAZWOPER) emergency situations.
• The Pilothas leveraged redevelopmentdollarstotaling
$7,500,000 [$4 million from a Section 108 loan; $1
million from aBrownfields Economic Development
Initiative (BEDI) award; $570,000 from the
Economic Development Administrations (EDA);
$550,000 from a Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG); $500,000 from the state; and
$880,000 from the city].
• The city was awarded an additional $350,000 grant
under EPA's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan
Fund Pilot Program.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
December 2000
St. Petersburg, Florida
EPA 500-F-00-266
------- |