United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-265
November 1998
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Seattle/King County, WA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more
coordinated manner. This multi-agency partnership has pledged support to 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models
demonstrating the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. The designated Brownfields Showcase Communities are
distributed across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged,
depending on the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
Community Profile
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
the City of Seattle and surrounding King County as
a Brownfields Showcase Community. Seattle and
King County created
the Duwamish Coali-
tion, a multi-jurisdic-
tional, public/private
partnership, to address
brownfields cleanup
and redevelopment in
the Duwamish indus-
trial corridor. This cor-
ridor is the most highly
concentrated industrial
area in the State of
Washington. It encompasses more than 8,500 acres,
65% of which are in the City of Seattle, and runs
through the center of Seattle's federal Enterprise
Community (EC) and state Community Empower-
ment Zone. The corridor contains 2,000 businesses
which provide nearly 87,000 jobs and which produce
an annual payroll of approximately $2.5 billion. Of
the nearly 12,000 residents living in the corridor, 30%
are minorities and 19% live below the poverty level.
King County and the City of Seattle's overall strat-
egy for brownfields redevelopment is to implement
Seattle/King County,
a range of systemic solutions which address regula-
tory and other institutional barriers to cleanup and
redevelopment. The aim is to stimulate private in-
vestment by increasing the redevelopment potential
of contaminated, vacant or under utilized industrial
land. The Duwamish
Coalition was created to
implement this strategy.
The coalition's Steering
Committee is comprised
of representatives from
federal, state and local
agencies, private com-
panies, financial institu-
tions, community and
business organizations,
labor unions, educational
institutions, and tribal and state governments. The
coalition also involves affected communities to en-
sure comprehensive solutions to brownfields issues
are developed.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Through the Duwamish Coalition, King County and
Seattle have made significant strides in addressing
brownfields issues in the region. Highlights of the
coalition's brownfields redevelopment program include:
Seattle is focusing on solutions
which address barriers to the
cleanupand redevelopment ofthe
8,500-acre Duwamish industrial
corridor, which contains more than
200 contaminated properties. The
city, King County, and other partners
are implementing a broad range of
innovative projects to overcome
redevelopment hurdles.
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•Leveraging $1,925,652 in public and private
investment in the coalition's projects, including
$959,000 in direct funding and $966,652 in in-kind
resources;
• Involving more than 250 community members in
the coalition's five working subcommittees;
• Creating several projects, programs and reports
which are currently being implemented to address
community, environmental, health, redevelopment
and revitalization problems in the corridor. These
projects include:
• The Duwamish Brownfields/Total Petroleum
Hydrocarbon (TPH) Project, an EPA Brownfields
Pilot project which has leveraged $720,000 in
public and private funding;
• The Environmental Extension Service (EES)
project, which has leveraged $111,000 in public
and private funding; and
• The Duwamish Groundwater Pathways Project,
whichhas leveraged $ 128,000 in public and private
funding;
• Implementing ademonstrationprojectprocessthat
provided technical and financial assistance from
local governments to public and private entities for
various cleanup and redevelopment projects, all of
which were projected to create or retain industrial
jobs;
• Launching the Seattle and King County Jobs
Initiatives to improve links between disadvantaged
residents and jobs in the corridor, and creating a
Workforce Brokerage with private sector
employers to implementthe initiatives; and
• Participating in an effort by the National Association
of City and County Health Officials to develop a
national protocol for conducting community
environmental health assessments.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
King County and Seattle plan to use the Showcase
Communities project to furtherthe efforts undertaken
by the Duwamish Coalition. Current or proposed
brownfields projects within the Duwamish area in-
clude: the TPH project; an environmental extension
service; a Duwamish area-wide consent decree and
agreed order; a model prospective purchaser agree-
ment; the Duwamish groundwater pathways project;
and an outreach/communications program.
King County and Seattle's brownfields redevelopment
activities serve as a national example. The unique
partnerships and processes of the Duwamish Coali-
tion have resulted in the development of a compre-
hensive strategy to address brownfields issues at a
regional level, with the extended involvement of many
types of stakeholders.
Contacts
King County Office of Budget and
Strategic Planning
City of Seattle
(206)205-0711
Office of Economic
Redevelopment
City of Seattle
(206)684-8591
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 10
(206) 553-6523
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm
Brownfields Showcase Community
November 1998
Seattle/King County, Washington
EPA 500-F-98-265
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