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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
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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

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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 '

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