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Brownfields 1999 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
City of Newport News, Virginia
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 awarded the City of Newport News supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot. Newport News (population 182,000) is a linear city
located in southeastern Virginia where the James River
meets the Chesapeake Bay. It served as the eastern
terminus of the first transcontinental railway. It is still
home to many shipyards and the point of departure for
thousands of American soldiers. The Victory Arch, built
to commemorate the city's role in soldier deployment
during both World Wars, is located in what is now the
oldest section of Newport News. As the city expanded
northward, investment in the older downtown decreased
leaving the Victory Arch surrounded by old abandoned
factories and shipyards. The neighborhood currently
contains the highest proportions of racial minorities and
low-income residents in the city.
The city's goal is to recycle the underused and abandoned
commercial and industrial properties that represent the
small amount of land available for Newport News'
economic growth. The original Pilot enabled the city to
conduct environmental site assessments on seven
properties in the Southeast Community and downtown.
In addition, the original Pilot established the framework
for the city's brownfields program, compiled an
inventory of brownfields in the southern portion of the
citv. and involved citizens and businesses in the
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $150,000
Profile: This Pilot targets at least three sites in the
Victory Arch Brownfields Initiative Target Zone for
assessment and reuse planning.
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 3 Brownfields Team
(215)814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr)
Grant Recipient: City of Newport News, Virginia
(757)926-3805
Objectives
Newport News will use the supplemental assistance to
select a minimum of three sites in the Victory Arch
Brownfields Initiative Target Zone that offer the best
opportunity for sustainable success and conduct site
assessments at those sites. The Pilot will focus on the
downtown, Chase Bag/Seafood Industrial Park, and the
CSX Rail Corridor areas of the target zone.
Supplemental funds also will be used to update its
inventory of brownfields and involve the community
through public forums and meetings.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Selecting at least three properties in the Target
Zone for assessment and characterization;
•	Updating the city's inventory of brownfields; and
•	Continuing community involvement programs.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-087
May 02

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brownfields redevelopment process. Supplemental
assistance is needed to continue the process of
revitalizing the Victory Arch Brownfields Initiative
Target Zone.
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-02-087
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	.. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV02
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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/r^. Brownfields 1999 Supplemental Assessment
I jig) Pilot Fact Sheet
Newport News, VA
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 Newport News for a
Brownfields Pilot. Newport News (population 182,190)
is located in southeast Virginia, where the James River
meets the Chesapeake Bay. Founded in the early 1600s,
the city's industrial history began in 1881, when it
became the eastern terminus of the first transcontinental
railway and home to many shipyards. During the two
World Wars, the city was an important gateway to the
European front, serving as a departure point for
thousands of American soldiers, and welcoming them
home at the wars' conclusions.
Newport News is a linear city, stretching 27 miles long
and measuring less than five miles wide at its broadest
point. It is more than 90 percent developed. The Victory
Arch, built in what was the center of the city to
commemorate the city's role in soldier deployment, today
stands in an area populated with abandoned factories and
old shipyards that contains the highest proportions of
minority and low-income residents in the city. Many of
the industrial sites in this part of the city are impacted by
real or perceived contamination. The Pilot will target
brownfields in and around this area.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 06/21/1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets up to three sites in the
southern part of the city.
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 3 Brownfields Team
(215)814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr)
Grant Recipient: City of Newport News, Virginia
(757)926-3805
Objectives
The Pilot's objective is to complement and expand the
city's ongoing renewal efforts including projects to
clean up and redevelop area brownfields. The
Pilot-targeted sites will be assessed, cleaned up, and
redeveloped in conformance with the city's
comprehensive plan that addresses economic
diversification, neighborhood preservation and park
expansion. These sites will serve as a cornerstone for
the ongoing redevelopment strategies to return
brownfields to environmental and economic health.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Creating an inventory of potential target sites;
•	Selecting up to three sites for environmental
assessments;
•	Developing cleanup and redevelopment plans;
and
•	Conducting community involvement activities,
as well as augmenting existing programs.
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-99-127
nil- a	ancl Emergency	.
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	Jun 99
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-99-127
Jun 99

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