United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-113
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\>EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Pennsauken Township, NJ
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 has selected Pennsauken Township for a
Brownfields Pilot. Pennsauken Township occupies
approximately 10.5 square miles located between the
Delaware and Cooper rivers and has a 1998 estimated
population of 33,879. Intheearly 1800s, the influx of
maritime trade and rail transportation along the
Pennsauken waterfront spawned development for
many industries such as paper and steel manufacturing.
Changes in the economy caused a decline in
manufacturing in this region, which led to layoffs and
eventual factory shutdowns. The economic effect of
this decline is felt in the loss of jobs, wages, and tax
revenues, as well as in a surplus of unused, or
underused, functionally obsolete buildings that have
little if any market value. The immediate waterfront
area, which is the focus of this Pilot, is mostly
industrial with only 50 residents, but the area
immediately inland is densely populated with low-
income residents living in poverty. These sites are
sources of potential threats to the health and well-
being of the people living in adjacent neighborhoods.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Pennsauken Township, NJ
Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the riverfront area of
Pennsauken Township for
assessments leading to the
development of cleanupand
redevelopment plansforthis
500-acrearea.
Contacts:
Township Committee
(856) 665-1000, ext. 109
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 2
(212)637-4314
Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r02earth/superfnd/brownfld/bfmainpg.htm
Forfurtherinformation,including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields newsandevente.and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
This Pilot will identify, characterize, and develop
cleanup plans for up to six contaminated sites in the
focus area. The focus area is a 500-acre subdivision,
carefully selected by the township as an ideal location
for initial actions to redevelop the riverfront area. The
objectives of the Pilot are to preserve, protect, and
strengthen the character of existing residential
neighborhoods and reduce health threats to residents
affected by contaminated properties. The Pilot also
will identify and encourage adaptive reuse of vacant
and underutilized properties and structures and design
and implement new transportation alternatives that
include light-rail systems. In addition, the Pilot will
consolidate Pennsauken's industrial land uses.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying, evaluating, and ranking sites to decide
which sites will benefit the community most from
cleanup and redevelopment;
• Conducting field assessments and evaluations of
identified sites;
• Designing cleanup and redevelopment plans; and
• Organizing and executing community involvement
activities to involve the residents in decision making
and educate them on the Pilot activities.
The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfieids Assessment Demonstration Pilot Pennsauken Township, NJ
May2000 EPA 500-F-OO-113
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