/ D \ Brownfields 1997 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet \ J Des Moines, I A 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 Des Moines supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The city will focus on the 300-acre Riverpoint West area located just south of the central business district. The area is characterized by underused industrial parcels, a number of deteriorated structures, and real and perceived contamination from years of use for rail yards, newspaper and magazine printing, paint manufacturing, foundry operations, asphalt paving, and industrial chemical manufacturing operations. Phase I environmental assessments conducted across the targeted area indicate potential soil and groundwater contamination. The area is located in a census tract that has a family poverty rate of 37.8 percent. It also has several designations (e.g., urban renewal area, tax increment finance district, urban revitalization tax abatement area, and Gateway Enterprise Zone) that offer an array of economic development incentives to revitalize the community. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 09/01/1997 Amount: $150,000 Profile: The Pilot will target the 300-acre Riverpoint West area located just south of the city's central business district. 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 7 Brownfields Team (800)223-0425 EPA Region 7 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brown fields) Grant Recipient: City of Des Moines,IA (515)237-1351 Objectives The Pilot will coordinate these supplemental assessment efforts with the other city initiatives' including a major transportation project and cleanup of other contaminated properties - to convert the area into a vibrant urban village and help support sustainable growth in the downtown area. The project seeks to utilize existing infrastructure and will provide low-rise residential and office space, a large public open space, and a pedestrian-friendly design to encourage walking and biking to the downtown area and to nearby natural resources such as Gray's Lake and the Water Works Park. The city will partner with the Des Moines Development Corporation (DMDC) to accomplish these objectives. The city will address environmental concerns and public infrastructure to serve the area and the DMDC will acquire the needed property and prepare it for redevelopment. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to: • Conduct Phase II environmental assessments on United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-00-012 nil- a ancl Emergency . __ Protection Agency Response (5105*0 Apr°° Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- properties totaling approximately 175 acres in the Riverpoint West area; • Prepare cleanup cost estimates and a cleanup implementation plan; • Coordinate with the DMDC to leverage a redevelopment feasibility study, draft a property acquisition plan, develop a land use redevelopment plan, and create a flow of ownership plan; and • Encourage active community involvement in the decision-making process regarding assessment and cleanup of the area. 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-00-012 Apr 00 ------- /!T^. Brownfields 1997 Supplemental Assessment I jig) Pilot Fact Sheet rwat^ City of Des Moines, I A 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 Region 7 has selected the City of Des Moines for a Regional Brownfields Pilot. Des Moines is a financial, agribusiness, and retail trade center in the Midwest. In 1996, the unexpected closure of a beef processing plant in the City's central core resulted in approximately 1,300 lay-offs and widespread negative economic impact. The plant closure focused the community's attention on the environmental contamination that may be associated with chemical plants, salvage operations, and agribusinesses. The City has estimated that it has 50 brownfields, ranging in size from less than one acre to more than five acres. Private property owners have been hesitant to investigate these brownfields because of potential liability and cleanup expenses. The City and its partners are responding to these challenges in a variety of ways, including the planning of the Des Moines Agribusiness Park, which is the target of this Pilot. This 1,200-acre tract of industrialized land has a history of environmental contamination. Suspected contaminants include lead, chromium, volatile organic compounds, and PCBs. Many of the parcels within this area may be considered brownfields. The City recognizes that successful redevelopment of this area is not possible until the known or perceived environmental contamination is addressed. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 03/01/2000 Amount: $100,000 Profile: The Pilot targets a 1,200-acre tract of industrialized land in the eastern part of Des Moines for redevelopment into the "Des Moines Agribusiness Park." 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 7 Brownfields Team (800)223-0425 EPA Region 7 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brown fields) Grant Recipient: City of Des Moines,IA (515)237-1351 Objectives The Pilot seeks to redevelop the under-used industrial sites within the Des Moines Agribusiness Park that are or have been threatened by environmental contamination. The area is well supported by easy highway access and current infrastructure sufficient to support the planned uses. Existing businesses in the Park currently employ about 300 people. It is anticipated that a majority of the workers for the new facilities will come from the local Hispanic and Asian populations. Many of these workers were laid off as a result of the beef processing plant closure in 1996. The Pilot has identified several specific objectives to ensure successful attainment of this goal, including: removing real or perceived barriers to redevelopment, especially those related to the environmental condition of the properties; securing new business investment in the Park; creating livable wage employment opportunities for Des Moines residents, especially those laid off by the beef processing plant; certifying the area under the United States c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 500-F-97-159 _ . .. . and Emergency _ . Protection Agency Response (5105T) 0ct 07 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- State's Agribusiness Enterprise Zone; developing a quality assurance management plan; exploring liability issues with the State; and exploring implementation of a pollution prevention plan to prevent the creation of future brownfields. Activities The Pilot will: • Complete a land development assessment to determine the opportunities and challenges for redeveloping the Park, that will include research on land use, zoning, property ownership, infrastructure, and flood plain status; • Conduct Phase I environmental assessments of all lands in the Park to identify specific brownfields sites; • Conduct Phase II environmental assessments on a minimum of five sites in the Park that appear to pose the greatest threat of contamination and would be the most readily developed; • Secure public involvement in all aspects of the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the Park, including holding public meetings to discuss potential cleanup plans, creating communications products to keep the public informed about the project, and developing an Internet home page; • Develop cleanup budgets and implementation plans, including site prioritization, cleanup strategies, land use, ownership transfer, and innovative financing; and • Develop and adopt an urban revitalization plan and tax increment financing district which includes the Park. 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-97-159 _ . . and Emergency _ . Protection Agency Response (5105T) 0ct 07 Washington, DC 20450 ^ v ' ------- |