United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA500-F-97-125 April 1997 &EPA National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Bucks County, PA 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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. 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. OVERVIEW EPA has selected Bucks County as a Brownfields Pilot. Since mid-century, the economic vitality of Bucks County has centered around a manufacturing industrial base located along the Delaware River. The loss of 10,000 jobs at U.S. Steel and industrial downsizing over the past two decades have resulted in the county's high unemployment rate. There are more than three square miles of vacant industrial facilities, under-used buildings, and abandoned properties in the county. Bucks County secured an Enterprise Zone designation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1996. Three of the municipalities in this Enterprise Zone are among the county's most populous. County Commissioners are trying to facilitate the revitalization of older, abandoned, and under-used buildings within Bucks County, particularly within these Enterprise Zone communities. Businesses that want to locate in the county tend to avoid brownfields and their suspected contamination despite accessibility to a large, high-quality workforce and an established transportation network. Instead, businesses often elect to locate in undeveloped parts of the county, which has exacerbated urban decay and suburban sprawl. PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Award: April 1997 Amount: $200,000 Site Profile: The pilot will focus on more than three square miles of vacant or under-used industrial property within the Buck's County Enterprise Zone. Bucks County, Pennsylvania Contacts: Robert White Bucks County Redevelopment Authority (215)860-3313 Tom Stolle U.S. EPA-Region 3 (215)566-3129 stolle.tom® epamail.epa.gov Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- OBJECTIVES The objective of this brownfields pilot is to initiate a comprehensive assessment of potentially contaminated industrial and commercial properties thatwouldbe appropriate forprivate sectorinvestment. The pilot will focus on brownfields within three Enterprise Zone communities—Bristol Township, Bristol Borough, and Morrisville Borough. ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this pilot include: Phase 1: Coordination with Enterprise Zone Plan • Forming a Brownfields Task Group; • Establishing goals for designated brownfields communities, and identifying the unique cultural, social, historical, and environmental aspects of the communities; • Ensuring community participation and outreach; Phase 2: Site Inventory (and Ranking) • Reviewing available databases and surveys to identify brownfields sites, and creating an inventory of brownfields sites; • Creating a matrix of ranking criteria, and prioritizing sites for environmental assessment; Phase 3: Environmental Site Assessment • Preparing site assessment work plans for sites, and conducting site assessments; • Preparing site assessment reports; • Evaluating appropriate flow of ownership models for site redevelopment and reuse; and • Presenting recommendations to community leaders. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Bucks County, Pennsylvania April 1997 EPA 500-F-97-125 ------- |