United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
  Solid Waste
  and Emergency
  Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-123
April 1997
                       National  Brownfields
                       Assessment  Pilot
                                                       Jersey  City,  NJ
  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 Jersey City as a Brownfields Pilot.
Located on the Paulus Hook peninsula and in close
proximity to New York City, Jersey City served as a
magnet to the railroad and shipping industries over
the last century. In the 1960s,  railroad use began
declining and industrial companies began departing
from the area. These changes resulted in both envi-
ronmental and economic problems. Approximately
one-fifth of the city's acreage has been identified as
potential brownfields sites. The pilot area consists of
the former industrialized and rail areas surrounded by
the residential communities of BergenHill, Greenville,
and Lafayette.

OBJECTIVES

Jersey  City's  brownfields pilot will serve  as a
prototype  for development of a  standardized
redevelopment model. It will focus on methods for
the completion of brownfields site inventories, site
assessments, and remediation planning. Particular
emphasis  will be  on  funding a comprehensive
community-based  environmental education and
participation program.
  PILOT SNAPSHOT
 Jersey City, New Jersey
  Date of Award:
  April 1997

  Amount: $200,000

  Site Profile: The pilot
  area consists of former
  industrial and rail areas
  surrounded by the
  residential communities of
  Bergen Hill, Greenville,
  and Lafayette.
Contacts:

Paul Hamilton
Jersey City Redevelopment
Agency
(201)547-4799
  Larry D'Andrea
  U.S. EPA-Region 2
  (212)637-4314
  dandrea.larry@
  epamail.epa.gov
        Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
        http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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Jersey City believes the brownfields pilot  will
encourage redevelopment and reuse of brownfields
properties that will lead to an increased municipal tax
base, create new industrial jobs, and reduce potential
exposure to contaminants by residents of adjacent
neighborhoods.

ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this pilot include:

• Developing an inventory of brownfields sites in a
 comprehensive data  and graphic information
 retrieval system;

• Conducting programs for community involvement,
 environmental education, and public participation,
 and establishing a mobile educational information
 center;

• Completing site  assessments in the target area; and

• Developing remedial work plans for site cleanups,
 incorporating innovative technologies whenever
 possible.

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                                              Jersey City, New Jersey
 April 1997                                                                        EPA 500-F-97-123

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