United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-00-261 December 2000 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Cape Charles-Northampton County, VA 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 selected the Town of Cape Charles for a Brownfields Pilot. Cape Charles is located at the southern tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore on a narrow strip of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area boasts rich farmlands, productive waters, vastwetlands,andmilesofunspoiled coastline. Twenty-seven percent of the 13,000people in the area, 47 percent of whom are of African- American heritage, live below the poverty level. The President's Council on Sustainable Development selected Cape Charles as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park demonstration project, the Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park (STIP), which will demonstrate advanced facilities in resource efficiency and pollution prevention. A 15 5-acre portion of this eco-industrial parkisaredevelopmentareasurrounding Cape Charles Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. The site includes a former municipal dump, dockside, railyard, and the remains of abandoned industrial operations. The site may contain hazardous substances thatthreaten public health and the marine environment and must be addressed before the eco-industrial park can be developed. PILOTSNAPSHOT Cape Charles- Northampton County, VA Date of Announcement: September 1995 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets a 155-acre former dump and railyard site located on a narrow strip of land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Contacts: Northampton County Department of Sustainable Economic Development (757)331-1998 U.S. EPA - Region 3 (215)814-3132 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/ ------- OBJECTIVES The Pilot is working to facilitate the development of the Port of Cape Charles STIP as a means of creating sustainable economic development while protecting the community's unique natural, cultural, and historic resources. Specifically, the Pilot is assessing the extent of contamination on the 15 5 -acre former dump and railyard site and designing acleanup strategy that will enable the development of the eco-industrial park to progress. Once the project is completed, the redeveloped brownfields will include the eco-industrial park, restored wetlands, a nature trail and environmental education facility, and atertiary sewage treatment system. ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES The Pilot has: • Completed Phase I and II environmental assessments of the former town dump parcel at the STIP site; • Developed a Master Plan, comprehensive design and operations standards, and zoning language. Citizens reviewed and revised drafts of the Master Plan for redevelopment at a community workshop and Celebration of Progress in December 1995; and • Facilitated the adoption by the Cape Charles Planning Commission of a new STIP zone. The Cape Charles Town Council subsequently rezoned land into the new STIP zone, dedicated land for road access, and approved subdivision of industrial park land. LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES Experience with the Cape Charles Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities, including the following: • The Cape Charles Town Council leased approximately 25 acres of brownfields land to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) for use in the STIP. Under this long-term lease, the IDA is responsible forany necessary environmental cleanup of this area, which includes 400 feet of harbor frontage, the former town dump, and the main entrance to the park. The Joint IDA of Northampton County and its Incorporated Towns, have adopted a "Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for the Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park." The covenants contain measurable, enforceable environmental and social sustainability criteria with performance incentive awards to occupant tenants who exceed the minimum sustainability requirements. The Pilot cooperated with the President's Council on Sustainable Development to host a national workshop on eco-industrial parks in October 1996. Hare Valley High School was converted into a temporary solar panel manufacturing factory by Solar Building Systems, Inc., which subsequently hired 30 employees. Six additional redevelopment jobs (four by Energy Recovery, Inc., and two by Natural Habitat) and one temporary cleanup job were created in the STIP. The Pilot leveraged $2.5 million in county bonds for the construction of the 30,930- square-foot Energy Recovery, Inc., building, which was completed in March 1999. The Pilot leveraged a $790,000 Rural Business Enterprise grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Administration, which will be used to establish infrastructure in the STIP. The Pilot leveraged a $798,000 grant from the Department of the Interior to purchase landadjacent to the park to extend the nature preserve already incorporated within the Pilot target area. The Pilot leveraged an award of $ 190,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a coastal water quality program. Occupancy of Building I of the STIP was anticipated by September 1998. Cape Charles was awarded an additional $200,000 as one of EPA's Brownfields Showcase Communities finalists. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot December 2000 Cape Charles-Northampton County, VA EPA 500-F-00-261 ------- |