United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-127
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Newport News, VA
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. 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 brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
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 has selected the City of Newport News for a
Brownfields Pilot. Newport News (population
182,190) is located in southeast Virginia, where the
James River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Founded in
the early 1600s, the city's industrial history began in
1881, when it became the eastern terminus of the first
transcontinental railway andhometo many shipyards.
During the two World Wars, the city was an important
gateway to the European front, serving as a departure
point for thousands of American soldiers, and
welcoming them home at the wars' conclusions.
Newport News is a linear city, stretching 27 miles
long and measuring less than five miles wide at its
broadest point. It is more than 90 percent developed.
The Victory Arch, built in what was the center of the
city to commemorate the city's role in soldier
deployment, today stands in an area populated with
abandoned factories and old shipyards that contains
the highest proportions of minority and low-income
residents in the city. Many of the industrial sites in this
part of the city are impacted by real or perceived
contamination. The Pilot will target brownfields in
and around this area.
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Newport News, Virginia
Contacts:
City of Newport News
(757) 926-8428
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets up
to three sites in the southern
part of the city.
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/
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot's obj ective is to complement and expand the
city's ongoing renewal efforts including projects to
clean up and redevelop area brownfields. The Pilot-
targeted sites will be assessed, cleaned up, and
redeveloped in conformance with the city's
comprehensive plan that addresses economic
diversification, neighborhood preservation and park
expansion. These sites will serve as a cornerstone for
the ongoing redevelopment strategies to return
brownfields to environmental and economic health.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Creating an inventory of potential target sites;
• Selecting up to three sites for environmental
assessments;
• Developing cleanup and redevelopment plans; and
• Conducting community involvement activities, as
well as augmenting existing programs.
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 Newport News, Virginia
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-127
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