/ O \ Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
1 J Pennsauken Township, NJ
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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 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. In the early 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
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets the riverfront area of
Pennsauken Township for assessments leading to the
development of cleanup and redevelopment plans for
this 500-acre area.
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: Township of Pennsauken,NJ
(856) 665-1000 ext 152
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.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Identifying, evaluating, and ranking sites to
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-00-113
nil- a	ancl Emergency	.. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV00
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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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 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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-00-113
May 00

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