United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-00-003 April 2000 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ <&EPA BrownfieldsSupplemental Assistance Bucks County, PA 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 the Bucks County supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Since the mid-twentieth century, the economic vitality of Bucks County has centered around a manufacturing industrial base located along the Delaware River. Bucks County has been the site for much industry, mainly because of its major transportation routes, including the Delaware River, Delaware Canal, Neshaminy Creek, Interstate-95, Route 202, and Route 611. Despite accessibility to an established transportation network and a large, high- quality workforce, businesses tend to avoid brownfields and their suspected contamination and, instead, elect to locate in undeveloped parts of the county, which has exacerbated urban decay and suburban sprawl. Originally, the Pilot focused on three municipalities and later expanded to cover all six municipalities comprising the Enterprise Zone (EZ) located in the lower portion of the county. While the concentration of industrial sites is greatest in the EZ municipalities, it is estimated that all municipalities within Bucks County have at least one industrial property. Many of these industrial businesses are now either defunct or PILOT SNAPSHOT Bucks County, Pennsylvania Date of Announcement: March 2000 Amount: $150,000 Profile: The Pilotwill identify and rank brownfields sites in Bucks County and target priority brownfields sites for acquisition, assessment, cleanup, and/or redevelopment. Contacts: Bucks County Regional Brownfields Team Redevelopment Authority U.S. EPA - Region 3 of the County of Bucks (215)814-3129 (215)781-8711 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/ ------- operating at diminished capacity. It is estimated that there are more than three square miles of vacant industrial facilities, underused buildings, and abandoned properties in the county. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The Pilot, lead by the Redevelopment Authority ofthe Bucks County, will use the supplemental assistance to expand its efforts to identify and rank brownfields throughout the remaining 48 municipalities of Bucks County. To do this, the Pilot plans to focus on 6 to 10 (depending on the size) municipalities at one time. The Pilotwill then target priority brownfields sites for acquisition, assessment, cleanup, and/or redevelopment. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to: • Identify and locate, using tax map parcel numbers and street maps, all vacant properties zoned for industrial or commercial usage; • Meet with community officials in charge of each municipality to identify which vacantorunderutilized properties are possible brownfields sites; • Conduct initial field investigations to identify eligible brownfields sites; • Rate the remaining properties to establish a list of priority brownfields sites; • Contact the corresponding property owners and municipalities about proceeding with the acquisition, assessment, and cleanup ofthe sites; and • Assess properties. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated: therefore, activities described in this factsheetare subject to change. Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Bucks County, Pennsylvania March 2000 EPA 500-F-00-003 ------- |