&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-216
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Bernalillo County, NM
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 Bernalillo County foraBrownfields
Pilot. Bernalillo County isbisectedbythe Rio Grande
and bordered by the Sandia Mountains. The County's
population is 518,031, of which 44.4% are minorities
and 24% live below the poverty level. Due to a long
history of industrial and commercial activity, the area
contains hundreds of vacant or abandoned sites with
known or perceived contamination. These brownfields
are located in a region of shallow groundwater
connectedto adeeper sole-source aquiferthatprovides
drinking water for Albuquerque and most of the
County.
The Pilot has targeted two areas: the South Valley of
Bernalillo County, adjacentto the Rio Grande, and the
North Valley, an area adjacent to downtown
Albuquerque that includes Albuquerque's historic
transportation and commercial corridor.
OBJECTIVES
The County will develop an inventory of sites, develop
a methodology to promote redevelopment, and begin
characterization of the highest-priority sites. The
County plans to link the Pilot with the many other
innovative environmental programs being implemented
by the County.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Bernalillo County,
New Mexico
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets the
North and South Valleys of
Bernalillo County, near
downtown Albuquerque, for
assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment.
Contacts:
Environmental Health
Department
Bernalillo County
(505) 924-3650
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
Forfurtherinformation, 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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ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Creating a Brownfields Advisory Committee to
involve local government, businesses, and
surroundingneighborhoodsintheplanningprocess.
The Committee will develop guidelines for
characterization, risk assessment, and cleanup
levels;
• Creating an inventory system to identify brownfields
sites. The community will be involved in developing
aranking system methodology and selecting priority
sites;
• Characterizing existing contamination at priority
sites through Phase I and II environmental
assessments; and
• Developing site-specific cleanup and
redevelopment plans.
The cooperative agreementforthisPilothasnotyetbeen
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Bernalillo County, New Mexico
July 1998 EPA 500-F-98-216
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