&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-220
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Rio Grande Council of
Governments, TX & 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 the Rio Grande Council of
Governments for a Brownfields Pilot. The Council
serves as the regional planning agency to one county
in southern New Mexico and six counties in west
Texas. The Council has designated these communities
as the Upper Rio Grande Project Area, and the Pilot
will target brownfields properties located here. The
area (population 235,364) is characterized by high
unemployment, low per capita income, and minority
rates ranging from 40.6% to 81.9%. The west Texas
and southern New Mexico region is experiencing
explosive population growth due to Sunbelt migration
and immigration. However, the Upper Rio Grande
areahasnotexperiencedthe accompanying economic
growth enjoyed by the rest of Texas.
The brownfields located throughout these counties
are typical of those in rural areas. They include
abandoned small industrial sites, light manufacturing
and utilities, automotive service stations, farming
operations, closed landfills, and illegal dump sites.
The majority of these targeted sites, of which several
are suspected of having heavy contamination, are
surrounded by residential or other commercial
properties, or are located in a potential growth
corridor. These underused or abandoned properties
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Rio Grande Council Of
Governments,
Texas and New Mexico
Contacts:
Rio Grande Council of
Governments
(915)533-0998
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the Upper Rio Grande
Project Area, which
encompasses one county
in southern New Mexico
and six counties in west
Texas.
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
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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negatively impact their communities through
groundwater contamination, threats to public health,
and depreciation of adjacent property values. The
communities in the Upper Rio Grande Project Area
do not have the economic resources to address
brownfields issues; however, the Pilot project will
serve as the first step toward reintegration of these
underused properties into their communities.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of the Rio Grande Council of
Governments is to clean up and redevelop the
contaminated properties in the project area and
integrate them back into productive use, thereby
adding economic, social, and/or recreational value to
their communities. To aid in this effort, the Pilot will
focus on brownfields identification, environmental
assessment, and redevelopment planning. In addition,
the Pilot will seek to build community consensus
through outreach activities on project priorities and
redevelopment strategies.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying and inventorying brownfield sites in
the project area;
• Conducting environmental site assessments to
quantify the extent of contamination on identified
sites;
• Performing community outreach activities;
• Performing more detailed Phase II site assessments
as warranted; and
• Planning for financing the cleanup and future
redevelopment of contaminated properties for
sustainable reuse.
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 Rio Grande Council of Governments, Texas and New Mexico
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-220
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