xvEPA
FORMER DDI FACILITY
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 560-F-12-007
March 2012
Garland, TX.
Assessment Grant
Brownfields Assessment Improves City's Emergency Services
ADDRESS: 1500 East Highway 66, Garland, IX 75040
PROPERTY SIZE: 20.9 acres
FORMER USE: Former electronics research and development facility
CURRENT USES: City of Garland Fire Department Administrative and
Training Facility
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The City of Garland, Texas received a
$200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment
grant in 2003
PROJECT PARTNERS:
City of Garland and Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality
The city's new Fire Administration buildin.
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
From 1984 to 2000, this Garland, Texas property housed an electronics research and development facility. While under
private ownership, the property was enrolled in the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Voluntary Cleanup
Program (VCP). From 2000 to 2003, the property was idle and listed for sale. The City of Garland purchased this property
in 2003. Using $66,000 of their EPA Brownfields Assessment grant and $75,000 in municipal funds, the city conducted
environmental assessments of the property. These tests confirmed the presence of groundwater contamination consisting
of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and trace metals used in electronics manufacturing. As part of the Brownfields
Assessment activities, the City of Garland applied for the Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) Program administered by
TCEQ. The MSD is an innovative institutional control that eliminates the need for 30 years of post-closure monitoring as
typically required by the VCR The City of Garland was awarded the MSD certification on March 6, 2006, and used $575,000
of its own funds to complete cleanup of this property. The VCP certificate of completion, which verified cleanup, was
awarded on November 7, 2008.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• The property received a Municipal Setting Designation Program certification on March, 6, 2006
• Over $ 17 million in city funding was leveraged for cleanup and redevelopment
• The property now houses the City of Garland Fire Department's Administrative and Training Facility
• Approximately 48 jobs were leveraged through cleanup and redevelopment
OUTCOME:
Construction and redevelopment progressed concurrently with this property's cleanup. The City of Garland invested over
$17 million to redevelop the property into its Fire Department's Training and Administrative Facility, which also houses
administrative offices for other city departments. The property now includes a five-acre training field featuring a drill
tower, structure for "burning building" exercises, flashover chamber, a training high-rise apartment, a driving course, and
classroom facilities. Previously, the City of Garland had to send its firefighters to off-site training courses; now the facility
can train 24 recruits at a time and is able to accommodate regional classes for the National Fire Academy. About four acres
of the property remain undeveloped, as they are within a drainage area. Cleanup of this property leveraged 12 jobs while
redevelopment has leveraged more than 36 jobs. In addition to new training facilities, the City of Garland's Fire Department
is now located on the property.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/Region6/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 6 at (214) 665-6444
For additional data and geographic information for this and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA's Cleanups in My Community - http://iaspub.epa.gov/Cleanups/
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