w5 Brownfields 1997 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet Perth Amboy, NJ EPA Brownfields Initiative EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Background EPA has selected the City of Perth Amboy as a Brownfields Pilot. With its close proximity to major water and ground transportation routes, Perth Amboy has served as the industrial and manufacturing hub of central New Jersey for many years. The exodus of industry, disinvestment, and a general suburbanization of the region have resulted in many areas of vacant or under-used industrial and commercial property, as well as many substandard buildings in need of rehabilitation or demolition. Industrial decline in the city also has resulted in socio-economic erosion, as shown by a per capita income that is 138 percent lower than the state average. Since 1990, the assessed value of portions of the targeted redevelopment area fell by more than $3.8 million. The pilot will be conducted on 877 acres of historically heavy industrial property located in the northeast and southwest sections of the city. Currently, 43 percent of this acreage is vacant. Although rich in historical and cultural heritage, the pilot area has been contaminated through many years of industrial activity. The pilot area will complement the city's current redevelopment plan, which includes a unique private/public partnership called Focus 2000. Integration of Focus 2000 with Perth Amboy's Urban Enterprise Zone program and the WrrmsmfiplHc mlrvt will 1i*=0r* trv Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 04/01/1997 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The focus of the pilot is approximately 877 acres of heavy industrial and vacant land located in the northeast and southwest sections of Perth Amboy. Contacts For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site (http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 2 Brownfields Team (212) 637-4309 EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region02/brownfields/) Grant Recipient: City of Perth Amboy,NJ (908)826-0920 Objectives Perth Amboy's goal is to provide technical expertise, public/private support, and vision to empower the local community and private developers in remediation and revitalization of the redevelopment area. The city aims to delineate contamination; plan for the use of innovative technologies and site cleanup protocols, improve public accessibility to brownfields and risk information, and develop sustainable insurance coverage programs. Activities Activities planned as part of this pilot include: • Conducting surveys, inventories, and assessments in the brownfields redevelopment area, and compiling related database information; • Developing an insurance pool coverage program addressing liability exposure, remediation cost overruns, and third party liability coverage; • Conducting feasibility studies for innovative United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-97-119 Apr 97 ------- l/l V/ VV UllVlWlJ JJ11VU V» AAA AAVAJJ IV |JAV V AUV UVJUAIA VAAUA incentives for property development. technologies that may be used in site cleanups; and • Developing a public participation and risk communication plan with support from Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-97-119 _ . . and Emergency . Protection Agency Response (5105*0 Apr97 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- |