Brownfields Assessment Pilots

PILOT SNAPSHOT	Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $200,000 Greenspace: $50,000 Target Area: Nye County, Nevada
Profile: The Pilot targets six municipalities within Nye County. Sites to be assessed will be selected for their potential to sustain commercial and industrial development.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected Nye County for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The county also was selected to receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Nye County, located east of Death Valley National Park in the south-central portion of Nevada , is the largest county in Nevada and the third largest county in the United States, covering 18,155 square miles. The county (population 40,490) has targeted the towns of Tonopah, Amargosa Valley, Beatty, Round Mountain, Gabbs, and Pahrump-Johnnie for this Pilot. Nye County has suffered the boom-bust effects of mineral mining and defense and energy-related activities over the years, and is trying to stimulate a pattern of diverse, stable economic growth on a limited amount of land (the federal government owns 98 percent of the land in the county). One possible target site for the Pilot is a former gold mine that could be redeveloped as a solar power generation facility. The county also has identified a site along the Amargosa River where there is considerable community support for greenspace preservation and the establishment of a community center.

While the populations of two of the towns have grown, growth in the remaining towns has declined due mainly to the slump in the mining industry and the loss of projects sponsored by the Department of Defense. Between 1992 and 1998, Nye County lost 9,560 jobs. The unemployment rate in the Pilot area is 6.2 percent, and nearly 13 percent of residents live in poverty. Approximately 21 percent of the population are minorities, primarily Hispanic.

OBJECTIVES

The county's objective is to prepare properties in the target communities for reuse, thereby increasing the amount of land attractive for new commercial and industrial development. To accomplish this objective, the Pilot will fund outreach to the community and potential stakeholders, create an inventory and prioritize properties for redevelopment within the target townships, conduct Phase I environmental site assessments of up to six high-priority sites, and conduct Phase II assessments as needed.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Implementing a community outreach plan;
• Identifying and prioritizing sites for assessment;
• Conducting up to six Phase I environmental site assessments, plus additional Phase II assessments as needed; and
• Evaluating the assessment program at different stages to evaluate its effectiveness at meeting its goals.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.

CONTACTS

Nye County
Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities
(775) 727-7727

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 9
(415) 972-3249

Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields